Wonder x And x Balance
by bergamoutorange
Summary: Cider is a lousy temp who discarded her old life for an average one, but when she met a young doctor, things changed. An encounter on a rainy night leads to a startling discovery, and she must uncover it in shady Yorknew. The dance of unseen eyes, spiders, redemption, history, reunions, death, new bonds, and attachment begins. LeorioxOCxOC (LeorioxOC) (Eventual OCxOC?)
1. Lacking grace so I dine with a hippo

A/N: Hey everyone, I hope you like this silly episodic story of mine which will be based around on the life of a temp hunter (OC), other hunters (like Hanzo), and what Leorio's been doing before and after the events of the Yorknew arc. The story will also merge with later arcs of the manga/anime as well but that will be in the later chapters. The story will have action, drama, fireworks, comedy, broships (imagine Gon and Killua frolicking on the shore while running away from Hisoka), and budding romance for many hunters including OC and Leorio. Did I mention fireworks? Because there will not be any fireworks, sorry I lied ^^;

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Hunter x Hunter, artwork used for the covers, or any songs that will be used in the story.

**10/14/16 Update**: Sentimental Memories chapter is still WIP (about 55% done), and some minor changes (like Casper and Autumns' ages/hair color) were made! Also due to mishaps, I have to rewrite a whole chapter, The Girl on the Roof.

**Reminder**: As the story progresses, some chapters will be merging with one another!

**Old Summary for Chaps 1-8**: Being a student and a hunter can be difficult, but if one balances the two, their lives will be full of wonder. Watch as a nervous wreck of a temp hunter and a money loving hunter form friendships, endure hardships, complete jobs, and help each other out to reach their goals. There will be laughter, tears, anger, and smiles. Won't you join them? (LeorioxOC)(Yorknew Arc begins soon)

**Opening (chaps 1-12)**: Flat by livetune adding Yuki Ozaki (from Galileo Galilei)

**Ending (chaps 1-12)**: Horsey by Macross 82-89 feat. Sarah Bonito

* * *

"Once upon a time there was a prince who died. He fell in love with a young woman who was cursed by a evil wizard. Determined to prove his love to the woman, he went off to battle the sorcerer."

Inside of a small cottage, an old woman who goes by the name of Clara, was reading a fairy tale to a group of kids. She carefully flipped the pages of the book and showed the children the beautiful illustrations of the tale. As she flipped the pages, the illustrations popped up and reenacted the scenes from the story. The kids were amazed by the sorcery and begged her to continue with the tale. However she could not continue with the story, the book she held in her wrinkly hands was incomplete.

Clara smiled softly and shook her head, "We'll continue the story another day children. Now run along, Sorceress Clara has to tidy up this place for a guest. "

"Awww!" The kids yelled with disappointment and ran outside of the library.

As they ran off to town, the children waved goodbye to Clara and she went off to sweeping the dust off her doorstep. The cottage resided on a meadow which consisted of a creek with a water wheel to generate power for the library. The people who visited Clara's home mentioned how peaceful and serene it is. Some even believed that she had tiny animals clean and cook for her, but that was just a myth. However underneath the sugary fairy tale atmosphere lied a dark secret that no normal being could understand. The cottage may be small but the cellar was huge and heavily stocked with books and file cabinets filled with records. These records and books held many secrets that only a few Hunters can have access to. Records that contained many mysteries of ancient times and books that are filled with knowledge that some died from finding them or even read them. To this day, the underground library is slowly being updated and Clara patiently waits for the day that the library is fully complete.

Clara closed the door and continued to clean the place from head to toe. When her parents died, she was given ownership to the place and kept everything maintained throughout her life. Despite having a few minor back pains, she was still active and would refuse anyone's offer of buying her groceries or clean the place for her. As she mopped the floor, she heard a sound coming from the floor board under her rocking chair.

"Knock!" "Knock!"

She moved the rocking chair and on the floor was a keyhole that lead to the underground library. She took out a key from her white apron's pocket and unlocked the basement door. As the door unlocked, the floorboard was flipped opened by a nineteen year old girl with Egyptian blue hair.

The girl brushed off the cobwebs from her wavy hair and coughed out dust, "My apologies Clara-sama! When I was alphabetizing the horror section, I lost the spare key and I didn't want to interrupt you when you were reading to the kids."

She lightly bonked the girl on the head, "It's alright Cider but please just call me Clara."

"Oh it wouldn't seem right for me to call you that Clara-sama," Cider chirped, "I mean you're the owner of the Mystiker Library and many hunters respect you, so I should show you my respect by cleaning the floors and take out the dirt from the shin-"

"Cider, I only requested someone to clean the Mystiker Library, not give my home a scrub down, and please call me Clara-san."

"Oh...ok then Clara-san." Cider agreed and continued to clean off the dust from her clothes.

As she dusted off the remaining crud from her clothes, Cider watched as Clara mopped the floor and noticed her movements. The gracefulness and elegance that Clara emitted from her movements made Cider's heart flutter. Memories start to resurface from Cider's mind but she proceeded to repress them in the back of her head. She felt that opening her box of broken memories at this time was inappropriate and she had a feeling that Clara thinks of her as a weirdo who has a weird kink for older women mopping floors. Clara on the other hand didn't mind the young girl staring, it reminded her of her younger days and unlike Cider's memories, hers' were pleasant.

Clara smiled softly and dipped her mop in the bucket of water, "So do you have another job after this?"

Cider snapped out of her trance and smiled, "No this is the last job for today which will make things easier for me since tonight is my first night class at the university. Although I have a feeling I might get slapped with another job application from the boss men tonight, since they have a thing for inconveniencing the temps."

"Look at the bright side at least the Hunter Association is treating you temps like Hunters." Clara chuckled and continued to mop the floor, "But if you don't mind me asking, where are you studying?"

"Schädel University."

"That's a very good school that you got in there, congrats." She said as she scrubbed the oak floors, "Come to think of it, I've heard that another Hunter is studying there also."

Before Cider could say anything, her cell phone's alarm went off, notifying her that she has three hours till her classes start. As she was about to run to get her things from the clothes' rack, she slipped on Clara's newly mopped floor which sent her off flying. As Cider slipped off the floor, Clara gasped in shock and her blue eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her sockets. However when Cider's hands touched the floor, she motioned herself to land safely on the ground. Clara watched her movements and believed that the temp hunter will land gracefully on her feet. However that belief was short lived, Cider landed on her butt which made her cringe in pain. This made Cider feel embarrassed about herself, she wanted to land gracefully like a skilled hunter should, but the way that she fell convinced her that she might land on her feet incorrectly and she didn't want that to happen, not again.

"Argh my butt." She yelped in pain.

As Cider rubbed the pain away from her buttocks, Clara smiled sheepishly and grabbed Cider's things off the clothes rack. She handed Cider her light brown jacket and her satchel filled with textbooks. The smile that the elegant librarian had made Cider cringe a bit, she felt like she's being eaten alive by that smile. However as she handed the satchel, a pair of ballet slippers fell out of the bag and that caught Clara's attention. Cider's face flushed beet red and she quickly grabbed the slippers away from the librarian's hands and dashed out of the cottage.

"It's nice talking to you Clara-san! I hope we can have tea together someday!" She shouted nervously as she ran off to town.

After running a good distance, Cider stopped near an huge oak tree and sighed with grimace. A cool breeze gently caressed her body and she looked up at the sky that was now a bright orange color. When the cool breeze hit her, a soft smile formed on her face but it slowly faded into a slight frown. She gazed back at the cottage which looked like a perfect size for a small mouse from her distance. She felt bad for just running out of Clara's place but the embarrassment got the best of her. However this wasn't the first time she ran off from a client and a bunch of hunters from the association knew about her cold feet antics.

She snapped out her trance, 'No use looking back at what's already happened but why do I keep remembering my mistakes?'

Cider continued her walk to her school by following the man made dirt pathway which leads to town, Waldhalle. As she began to walk, she noticed a worn out carving on the oak's trunk, she couldn't read the initials but she knew it was something about a couple due to the poorly shaped heart.

'That tree is going to outlive us one day.' She thought jokingly.

* * *

In the bustling town of Waldhalle, the street vendors begin to pack their things and were about to head home. The town was known by its wonderful architecture, their luxury items, and being a popular hot spot for couples. Waldhalle was also known for its schools and being one of the best places for people and hunters to craft their skills. However it's advised by many tourist, townspeople, and journalists to be weary of your wallet if you come to the town. The luxurious and whimsical aura of the town can put a gaping hole in your wallet which will set you back with twenty years of debt.

"So how about it Miss? This dress is made by the silk of the famous Shirukufly and it is said that wearing this will make any man fall in love with you." A black bearded man announced with a huge grin exposing his golden teeth.

Cider grinned nervously and slowly backed away, "N-no thank you sir, I can't afford it. Besides, that dress is best suited for a princess, a millionaire's beautiful wife, or the millionaire's mistress. "

The street vendor stroked his beard and continued his business with another set of tourist who will probably be suckered into buying his dress. Cider continued to walk down the cobblestone streets and headed inside to the closest cafe she can afford. She looked at her phone's clock and sighed in relief, she still had enough time to grab something to eat. As she entered the cafe, a light browned hair girl dressed in maid attire smiled cutely at Cider.

"Welcome~! Is it only you for today?" She asked cutely.

Cider nodded lightly and the waitress guided her to one of the booths. The interior of the cafe was a mixture of old fashion and modern, the interior was mostly modern but the walls were decorated with antique paintings and the booths were decorated with frilly doilies. Few minutes later, Cider was sitting in one of the booths with an unwanted guest, an over sized hippo plush animal. The cafe that she went into was known for putting stuff animals for those who were eating alone. Apparently, this method is suppose to make the customer less lonely but to her, it made things more awkward and kind of sad. A family who was sitting on the opposite side saw this and the kids couldn't help but giggle at the sight.

"Mommy! Mommy I want that hippo!" The golden haired boy pleaded with glee.

"We'll get you one later dear." The boy's mom answered in a hush tone.

Cider gave out an awkward giggle and waved at the little boy. She went to back to waiting for her lunch and poured herself a cup of tea. She took a sip of the warm bitter liquid and looked at the glass of water that was beside the teapot. The glass of water made her remember the nen training that was given to her along with the other temp hunters. Nen usage was a minimal requirement for all hunters but for those who were applying for being temps, it is heavily recommended to know how to use nen if the person wants bigger pay. Cider moved the glass of cold water away from the warm teapot. As she continued to wait for her food, she sat back on the cushioned seat and bonked the back of someone's head. A loud clanking noise and a girl's shriek emitted from the booth that was behind Ciders' which made her sweat nervously.

"Ow hot hot hot!" grunted The stuffed hippo.

'I wish that it was coming from the hippo right about now.' She thought to herself.

"Are you alright sir?!" A waitress asked worriedly.

The person behind Cider stood up from his booth and she suddenly felt uneasy. She didn't want to turn around and see the damage, she wanted to run out of the cafe before things start to turn ugly for her. However deep in her heart, she knew that she can't always run away from her mistakes and for all she knew, all she did was probably make the guy spill hot water on his crouch. The least she can do was pay for the guy's lunch and give a long but polite apology for causing him trouble. Sure he might still be mad but he should look at the bright side, someone is going to pay him for his lunch.

Cider got out of her seat and stood straight in front of the stranger, 'Ok Cider just like what that youth and beauty hunter taught you. Give out one of your best smiles and apologize with all your h- OH GOD WHY!?'

Before she could flash a sincere smile, she noticed the damage she caused on the poor guy and tried not to overreact. His dark blue suit pants was now stained with hot tea and his head along with his suit covered shoulders was covered in vanilla cream, cookie crumbs, various sort of fruits, and a mint leaf on top of his spiky black hair. The guy had his eyes closed and he was whipping the cream off his tea shade sunglasses. He was grumbling about something and he suddenly heard a loud thud on the ground. The waitress slowly backed away as Cider went on all fours and proceeded to bow for forgiveness. She also held back her laughter from seeing the damage and the tears for what she had done.

"I apologize for what I have done sir! I didn't mean to make you drop that delicious looking parfait on yourself and spill scorching hot water on your groin. In order to prove my forgiveness, I'll pay for your lunch and even pay your dry cleaning. Again I am so sorry sir!" Cider declared in one breath.

"Since you're willing to pay for my lunch and dry cleaning, I'll forgive ya. But can you not call me sir, you're making me feel old." The guy replied as he squat down and noticed droplets of water on the floor.


	2. Tom's Diner

A/N: Hey everyone, I hope you will enjoy the second chapter of Wonder x Balance. The first few chapters are slow but slow steady beats the race. Parfaits are awesome to eat, but not fun if you got it slathered all over your head and shoulders xP. Hopefully the parfait guy isn't too mad.

Disclaimer: I do not own any songs used for the chapters or Hunter x Hunter.

Songs: -Title of the chapter: Tom's Diner by Susanne Vega

-Song for the cafe: Pala Paya (Young Readymade Golden Nighters A-Go Go Mix) from Space Channel 5 Uki Uki Non Stop Remix soundtrack.

Notes: *- Currency is equivalent to $671.50

* * *

"Yeah I just arrived at the station. Who would've thought that the handsome doctor, Leorio Paradinight, got accepted to Schadel and will now be living in one of the most luxurious towns known as Waldhalle?!"

Inside of a train cart, a young man in a dark blue suit was talking loudly on his phone, happily telling his friend that he got accepted to one his dream schools. All that studying, crying, loitering, drinking, jacking off, and flirting with sleazy women he did for the last three months paid off. He was so happy that he called one of his closest friends and gloat on his success. The passengers on the other hand weren't too keen on the loser's antics, a bunch of them moved into the other train cart to get some peace and quiet. Ten minutes later, the guy finally got off his cell phone and noticed that most of the passengers left the train, except for a few people who were patient enough to wait for the guy to stop jabbering. The train slowly goes to a stop and a bell chime from the train's intercoms echoed throughout the carts.

_"Now arriving at Muller Station." _A computer voice calmly announced to the passengers.

As the train doors slid open, a huge number of people enter the train which almost made the suited loser drop his cell phone. Unfortunately his cell phone did slip out of his fingers and it slid into the huge crowd of standing passengers. He had a decision, get his cell phone and unwillingly let someone steal his seat or wait till the group dies out. Before he can get off his seat to retrieve his mobile, an arm extended out of the sea of people and gave it back to him. He noticed that the hand was wrapped in bandages and wondered if the person had injured their hand.

"Uhm excuse me sir or m'am I think you dropped your phone. I can't really see you but I hope you can hear me and see my hand that's holding your cell phone. I'm not going to steal it, I just want to return it to you." A nervous voice murmured from the crowd.

He wanted to get a good look at the person but it was like trying to find a needle in a haystack made of humans. Judging from the voice, it was a female who was probably about the same age as him, but she sounded very scared or if not timid. But judging with what she said to him, she means well, even though she's rambling about finding his cell phone and declaring herself that she's not a thief. As he grabbed his cell phone, the stranger pulled back her arm away and stopped talking. The train suddenly went to another stop and the bell chimed again throughout the cat.

_"Now arriving at Waldhalle Station."_ The computer voice calmly announced to the passengers again.

'This is my stop.' Leorio thought with a smile.

* * *

Back at the cafe, Cider and the blue suited fellow were sitting together at the singles booth. The two were sitting in opposite sides and right beside them were their stuff animal guests. She sat next to the bulbous stuffed pink hippo from her booth while he sat next to an over sized fluffy yellow bird. Cider's eyes were slightly red from crying earlier and she couldn't help but feel horrible for causing a scene. Her emotions got the best of her and now she's believes that the waitress is giggling behind her back and the guy probably feels bad for her and he's just acting nice for her. She wanted to leave the guy in peace but he convinced her on having dinner with him and her stomach agreed loudly. Not only that, she doesn't want to miss her first day of class; it was too important for her to skip. Since she couldn't disagree with her stomach and her desire to go to school, she admitted defeat and agreed on being the guy's awkward dinner guest.

As they continued to wait for the food, the guy flashed a wide smile at her in hopes of cheering her up. But once she smiled, the guy couldn't help but laugh at the sight and an awkward laugh escaped from Cider's contorted face. Finally, the waitress arrived with two plates of food; a steak with vegetable medley both grilled to perfection and the other plate was a creamy clam chowder in a warm sour-dough bowl which came with a small garden variety salad.

The waitress flashed a cute smile to the two, "Enjoy! And this one is the house guys. So eat up!"

She placed an expensive looking wine bottle in the center of the table along with the plates of food. When the guy saw his meal in front of him, his brown eyes sparkled with delight and started to devour his dinner. The pig tailed waitress couldn't help but giggle at the sight and then she turned to Cider. She gave a reassuring wink to her as a way of telling the nervous girl that everything's okay. A soft smile of relief formed on Cider's face and she slowly began to eat her food. Once the waitress left, Cider started to wolf down on her salad and quickly poured herself a cup of red wine. It's been hours since she last ate and she didn't care if she was eating her food like a rabid dog. Suddenly she heard someone gagging loudly and noticed the guy was motioning her to pour him a drink. She did so and handed him the glass filled with burgundy red liquid.

He took a huge gulp and let out a huge sigh of satisfaction, "Huegh that hit the spot!"

"If you want I can order another bottle if you like." Cider mumbled with a mouth full of salad.

"Hm?" The guy's smile quickly disappeared and he looked straight into Cider's eye, "Are you sure about that?" He asked in a concern tone.

Cider swallowed the food in her mouth and grabbed her wine cup, "Yes I'm sure. Since I'm a hunter this isn't too bad for my wallet and-"

"Wait you're a hunter?" He asked in shock.

She nodded and took a sip of her drink, "I know I don't look like the everyday seasoned hunter but I am one."

A grin formed on his face and he stretched out his hand towards the girl, "Nice to meet another hunter here in Waldhalle. Names Leorio Paradinight, what's yours?"

She placed the wine cup down and firmly grabbed his hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you Leorio-sama, I'm Cider Meiming."

As she placed the wine cup on the table, Leorio noticed that the cup was about to overflow with fermented grape juice. He had a feeling that it was something about him saying that he's a hunter and that made her even more anxious than before. She pulled her hand away from Leorio's grasp and went back to eating her meal. His mind then started to wonder, how on earth did this girl become a hunter and why the overly polite speech just now? Then out of the blue, he saw Cider wincing a bit as she takes a sip of her soup.

"Is there something wrong?" He asked in concern.

"Huh? Oh no sir, I just have a cut in my mouth from my job earlier today, but you shouldn't be concern of me. Also I apologize for disturbing your dinner sir, but I will leave you alone as soon as I finish my food."

"Stop calling me sir," he interrupted in a frank tone, "You're making me sound like I'm an ornery old man."

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel old." she said as she sipped her soup, "I tend to talk like this toward other hunters but it's just a way of me showing respect to them."

"I get it if you're talking to the higher ups but you do realize that I'm a rookie right?"

Her light brown eyes widened a bit from the response, "R-really? But you look like you've been with the association for a long time."

When Leorio heard that, he grumbled a bit and memories of his time in the hunter exam appeared in his mind. He remembered the time where he told his newly made companions at the exam that he's a teenager and no one almost believed him. Even to this day, a lot of people and the girls that he once flirted with are convinced he's a thirty year old and he always finds himself trying to convince them that he's actually in his twenties.

'Great another girl thinks of me as some geezer. ' He thought heavily.

Cider noticed the troubled aura around Leorio and tried to reassure him, "What I really meant is you look like you know what you're doing!"

Leorio looked up with eyes full of hope, "Really? You don't think I look like an old man?"

"Not at all." She answered with an honest smile and checked the time on her cell phone.

"Then do you think I'm handsome?" He asked happily.

The stuffed hippo shouted, "CHECK PLEASE!"

When he saw that the stuff hippo replaced Cider, he jumped back a little causing the wine bottle to tip over on top of the yellow stuff bird beside him. He grabbed a clean napkin from the table and started to wipe the wine off the bird's feathers.

'I should have known that girl was a flake and probably lied about being a hunter,' Leorio grumbled, "Have a feeling she left me the bill.'

As he continued to clean the stuff animal, he saw that there was a check in the hippo's mouth. Once he got off his seat, he noticed a set of ballet slippers near the seat that his dinner guest sat at. At that moment, he took back his negative thought on the blue haired hunter being a lying flake.

* * *

"Alright that'll be *500 Merty." The pig tailed waitress said to Cider sweetly.

She handed the waitress the money and quietly went outside of the cafe. The skies were now dark blue and the streets were illuminated by the lights from the buildings and the lamp posts. Cider gave out a heavy sigh, her habit of running off got the best of her again and all she can do now is just go to school with her head down in shame. This is probably the worst and the last dinner date she ever had in her whole life.

'I have a feeling he thinks of me as a loser.'

Cider double checked the time on her cell phone and noticed that she had thirty minutes left before the classes start. As she walked away from the cafe, she heard someone calling out her name and she turned around. There she saw Leorio in his parfait stained covered suit jacket running toward her.

"You forgot these." He handed her the slippers, "Would be terrible if you went to a dance class without your equipment. You're lucky that I'm nice enough to give it to ya."

She couldn't believe it, she almost went to ballet class without her slippers and that would have been the worst impression for the first day.

"Thank you so much!" Cider shouted happily, "By any chance did you find the check for your dry cleaning?"

"Yeah about that," Leorio handed back the check to her, "Keep it."

"But-"

He cuts her off again, "You still owe me but I don't think money is going to solve this issue of ours. I'll think of something else that you can do for me but in the mean time, see ya around Cider."

Leorio rose up his forearm and waved goodbye to her and headed off in the opposite direction of town. Cider stood there, stunned by what just happened and a smile began to form on her face. For some strange reason, the dinner date she believed was the worst is now one of the most interesting moments of her life so far. As she continued to head off to the university, she stopped and think back on what Leorio said.

'But what can I do to make it up for him? I'm not really good at anything...' She thought worryingly.


	3. Cafe Nostalgia

A/N: Hello guys, here's the third chapter of Wonder x Balance and I hope you enjoy it. This chapter we finally see what Cider was doing in the Mystiker Library and Leorio's first day at the university. The two go on a dinner date and it isn't the most bomb-diggity moment they've experienced in their hot, young lives. Leorio is thinking of something that Cider can do for him, but what could it be? There's a saying that if life gives you lemons, make lemonade. But in some cases, it's best that you throw them and shout out "I hate lemons!".

Disclaimer: I do not own any songs used for the story, references, or Hunter x Hunter.

Songs: Title of the chapter: Cafe Nostalgia by Capo Blanco

-Cleaning the library: Gentle Mind from Cromartie High School OST

-Getting pumped up or intimidated by nen: Mystic Island from Hunter x Hunter OST 1

-Remembering friends and running to school- Hoshi ga Dossari na Yoru from Cromartie High School OST 2

-Figuring out what to do: Africa Karinba from Cromartie High School OST

-Congrats, you figured it out: ハンター パレード from Hunter x Hunter OST 1

Notes: *-Drinking fluids that contain electrolytes is a good remedy for hangovers.

* * *

Beneath Clara's cottage was Mystiker Library, the best place for Hunters to find ancient books and records, as well as storing their own discoveries on its shelves. When Clara's parents first moved to Waldhalle, they discovered that the cottage had a huge wine cellar. Seeing that Clara's father was a Knowledge Hunter, he decided that he would make the cellar a library for other Hunters to use. While it is accessible for most, there is one section that only double or triple star Hunters have access to. That area is known as the Blacklist Section; which it contains confidential records and cursed books that cannot are not to be seen by a normal person or a one star Hunter. It is also noted by the association that from time to time, a hunter from the agency must give the library an annual clean up. But little do people know, the place is now and forever riddled with cockroach-rat hybrids called "Ratroaches". Due to putting their origins stem from the Mystiker library having been built underground, and placing a cursed book near a rat and cockroach nest. They not only look horrifying but they can rip the limbs off a poor, unsuspecting hunter. It should also be noted that Clara's father had died from the first infestation of the ratroaches, leaving his wife to mourn for his death and his daughter fatherless.

"Ok, Curling by Tomie Gyo should be put...here. Oops!"

Cider accidentally dropped the horror book in hand. It landed face down on top of a poor, defenseless mouse. As she picked up the book off the rodent, she let out a horrifying squeal and to see the mouse's body had twisted much like a pretzel. Startled, the mouse scuttled away from her, proving that it was very much still alive and breathing. She grabbed the book off the ground and violently shoved it onto the shelves. Just as the book was stowed in its rightful place, a swarm of tiny black spiders crawled out of the crevices of the shelf and some of them started crawled on Cider's arm. Her voice echoed throughout the cellar as she shrieked like a banshee.

'Why does this have to be the only temp job available in Waldhalle?!' She thought in horror.

Once she shook the last remaining spider off her arm, Cider went over to the cart and checked if there were any books that need to be put back. Noticing there's no more books, she took out a list from her khaki pants' pocket and started to write something on it.

To do list for the Mystiker Library:

1) Clean the floors and shelves- check

2) Organize all the files and records in the Ancient Texts and History section- check

3) Document the records of past hunters who gained access to the library- check

4) Check for damages of previously borrowed books and return them to their sections- check but might need to put the Curling back on the cart and request for an nen exorcist back at the agency.

5) Eradicate the yearly ratroaches nest, which is currently located between the Sci-Fi and Biology section.

When she read the last task, she heard herself scream internally and her pupils shrank from the unwanted adrenaline flowing through her blood. The nest was one section away from her and she can already hear the hideous hissing coming from behind the book shelf. If she makes one mistake in destroying the nest, it's the not the ratroaches that's going to kill her it's the Temp Hunters' division that will have her head on a silver platter. Knowing it's not the time to wallow in fear of screwing up, Cider calms herself by letting out a few breaths and slowly walked out of the horror section. There she rolled up her yellow shirt blouse and exposed her forearms that were covered in bandages.

She stared at her bandaged hands, 'Ok it's already been three weeks and the injuries should have healed. Hopefully it won't end like last time...'

As she unraveled the dressings a smile of relief appeared on her face, her arms can finally move freely in the air and there is no sign of internal injury. She bravely walked over to the next library shelf, only to find something that looked like it came from one of the library's books. At the very end of the section was the notorious ratroaches nest and it was a sight to ignore. The nest was the size of a gigantic soccer ball and consisted of clear yellow slime which was covered with tiny specks of black fur. Those tiny specks were the babies, luckily for Cider, they have not yet molted into their adult forms which makes the job a little easier. She felt her skin crawl from the sight of the nest and gagged at the putrid odor coming from the ooze. Suddenly something started to crawl out of the slimy nest and it looked like an over sized sewer rat.

'I wish you were a rat...'

The mother made her appearance and it was another thing that the temp hunter can add to her list of nightmares. It had the legs of a roach and claws of a rodent, the furry body had the density of the bug's outer shell, and the head was a mixture of rat's ears and the roach's mouth. Cider slowly stepped back a little and a horrifying hiss emitted from the creature. Feeling threatened, small wet fur bawls crawled out of its home and started to hiss at their enemy.

'Got to keep the attacks in the right size. If I make them too small, the books might get destroyed. You can do this Cider!'

"Bubble bubble fizz..." she whispered calmly.

A thin layer of aura surrounds Cider's body and she slowly raise her hands up in front of her. A pool of aura formed around her hands and medium sized translucent orbs started to form on the tip of her fingers. Once the orbs took shape, she blew them towards the vermin and the bubbles floated above them. Suddenly, something furry crawled inside her pants leg. She tried to regain her composure by shaking off the thing that was crawling on her leg, but she noticed that the fragile orbs of aura were trembling. Before she could do anything to the bubbles, the vermin noticed her movements and pounced at her. Knowing that it's too late to play it safe, Cider closed her eyes and braced for impact.

"AND POP!" She shouted nervously.

The bubbles simultaneously burst and a small explosion erupted from it. The initial blast knocked Cider off the ground, causing her to crash into a shelf of books and knocking herself out cold. Ten minutes later, she regained consciousness and found herself buried in history books that smelled like mold. Once she got herself out of the book pile, she finally figured out what was crawling in her pants. It was the curly shaped mouse from earlier and it was making a squeaking noise that sounded like laughter. Before she could do anything to the deformed rodent, she noticed that the ratroaches and its nest was replaced with a soccer sized crater.

A disappointed Cider groaned; the fact that she was too close to the bubbles made her realize how rusty she's getting. She should be happy that she didn't destroy the books but the outcome from the task made the effort taste bittersweet. Before she can mentally beat herself down, a cheerful jingle played in her pant's pocket and she took out her cellphone, it was her boss.

"Yes..." She answered politely, "Uh-huh, the place is pest-free for the year and everything is clean...Wait, what was that? No I didn't know we need to take a sample of the pest sir...Oh you were joking? I apologize for not getting the joke. By the way, I found a book that needs to be checked by an exorcist...Curling by Tomie Gyo...Oh you already know that, I'm sorry for repeating it to you...Ok, thank you sir and have a lovely evening."

After being dismissed by her boss, she realized she had one more task to do and it was removing the book from the horror section. There she noticed that the entire section is now covered in webs and tiny spider roaming on the silk threads. This was gonna take a while.

* * *

On the other side of town is one of the residential areas and it's called, Sparsam. That district is known to be the cheapest place to live, shop, and eat in. Not as luxurious as the other districts, the place had the architecture and the whimsical charm that Waldhalle is known for. There are apartment complexes scattered in that area along with small shops and bazaars that people can buy things from without being hassled by greedy vendors. Unfortunately, that area has the most stairs and to get around from place to place, it is recommended that tourists need walk to their destination ahead of time and pray that they don't tumble down the huge pleat of steps. Another downside is that the shops close earlier there than the ones in town square or in other districts. Despite its flaws, Sparsam is peaceful and so serene that anyone who lived or stayed there for a night will be soothed by its atmosphere.

But due to a disturbance in one of the complexes, a certain fellow with his trademark suit hasn't settled in quite well...

**"I'M NOT SOMETHING YOU CAN PERCH ON! SHOO SHOO GET OUT OF HERE!"**

After having dinner and saying goodbye to the temp hunter, Leorio thought of celebrating his success in getting into one of top universities by drinking all night. Unfortunately, today was his first day at the university and he found himself hungover. His neighbor's scream weren't helping, the screams felt like someone was slamming his head with a sledgehammer. Wanting some instant relief, Leorio dragged his butt to the nearest convenience store, bought himself a *sports drink, and went back to his apartment. Once he came back to the complex, he was welcomed by the landlord and was forced to listen the old man's lecture for ten minutes. After the lecture, the landlord gave another thrilling ten minute lecture about welcoming Leorio to the Crocus Apartments.

Once the landlord said goodbye to him, Leorio went up the balcony's steps which was now covered in bird feathers. He ignored the mess and went straight to his new home in Waldhalle. His room had all the essentials; clean pine wood floor, a small kitchen, one bathroom, a futon, a TV set, closet and a floor mirror. Leorio crashed on to his futon and stared at the ceiling. For a moment, he thought about his friends and wondered what were they up to and how were they doing. Then he remembered the promise he made; the group made a vow to meet up at Yorknew City in September which was three months away. Curious about Yorknew City, he sat himself up and grabbed his laptop on the coffee table. He logged himself in the Hunter Association's official database on his laptop. On the screen was an article about Yorknew city and a pop up video that was advertising a recent popular magical girl anime. Before he could click on the ad, he noticed the clock on his sidebar and he closed his laptop shut.

"Shit I'm going to be late." He muttered under his breath.

He opened the sports drink and chugged down the neon green liquid in five gulps. Feeling slightly relieved, he went over to the bathroom and did his normal morning routine. After heavily grooming himself, he went over to the floor mirror and put on his dark blue blazer which was now clean from the parfait stains.

'Wonder how's that temp hunter doing?' He thought to himself, 'She's probably fine.'

As he looked at himself at the mirror, he couldn't help but check himself out and do a couple of poses. In his opinion he looked flawless; his suit was wrinkle free and his face was free of stubble. He put on his teashade glasses and gave a smoldering smile to his reflection; reassuring himself that he'll be a successful doctor. After giving himself a mental pep talk, he locked the apartment door and went on his way to the university. Knowing that he has a long way to the school, he started to pick up his pace and dashed through the pleats of stairs. The sensation of running reminded him of the hunter exam then he remembered himself getting his ass handed by a demented looking jester and the moments where he fumbled a bit in the exam. Despite the mistakes, he did pass and can now use the hunter license to pay off the bills from the school.

* * *

Forty minutes later, Leorio finally reached Schadel University and found that the school's courtyard was crowded with a huge amount of students. There he realized, Schadel was huge and it was a bit overwhelming for the suit cladded fellow. Knowing it's the first day for the daytime classes, he decided that it's best to walk around, find which building is his first class located, and possibly mingle with some students. During his walk, he noticed a group of students in lab coats and one of them caught his eye. It was a young lady with fair skin, long lavender hair, and sea-green eyes. The female student noticed him staring and gave him a warm gentle smile which made his heart skip a beat. He waved back with a goofy smile and the group of students walked off to the building behind him. Then he heard the bell ringing from the clock tower outside of the school, signaling students that the first set of classes are about to start.

"The bell!" Leorio muttered to himself and looked at his schedule on his phone, "Ok...first class is located in the Grynizen hall."

"You mean Glyzinien Hall and that's where I'm heading off too!" A chipper voice echoed behind him.

"Hm?"

Leorio turned around and saw a petite girl with blond braids wearing a light pink ribboned blouse. There he noticed the badge on her top which had 'Student Council' in bold cursive print and he felt that this was the luckiest day of his life. Not only he's in one of the top schools, he's surrounded with pretty women, and met someone who goes to his class who is honestly freaking him out by that smile of hers. But he could care less of the smile, he can finally start his first day of school. Inside of the Glyzinien Hall, the two students walked together in the empty and silent hallway. As the two walked, another set of students ran past them and the blond girl greeted them as they ran by. Suddenly the two students panicked, they went inside a nearby classroom and slammed the door shut. This caught Leorio's attention, the building felt empty and the students who were going to their classes were acting a bit strange. It was as if something disturbing was floating in the air and unfortunately Leorio couldn't put his finger on it just yet.

"I'm sorry I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Mika!" The girl responded in a chipper tone.

"Nice to meet you, names Leorio...say uh is the hallways in this school usually this quiet?"

"Why of course." She answered with glee, "All students who attend Schadell know that it's best to be quiet in class hours. After all this is a learning environment and it would be a terrible that someone breaks the rule."

"Uh sure..."

'This girl is giving me the creeps; I'm getting chills every time she smiles at me. I'm thinking too hard on it, the students are probably scared of her because she's probably the leader of the student council.'

"And here we are!"

The two arrived at their destination and Mika opened the door to the classroom. When she opened the door, something in the room didn't settle well with Leorio; he felt like he was going to die from failing the class. His chest tightened, his legs felt like they were glued to the floor, and sweat began to form on his brow. He calmed himself down by taking a few deep breaths, even though he feels threatened there was no sign of danger in the room. He tried to enter the room but once he set his foot into the door, the presence of pressure and death overwhelmed him.

He took a step back, 'Damn I can't go in there without having a heart attack but why?'

Then he noticed Mika entered the room. Before she went over to her seat, she saw that Leorio is still standing in front of the entrance and walked over to him.

"What's wrong? Come on in, no one's going to bite you."

"Easy for you to say! I feel like I'm about to enter a tank full of sharks!" Leorio shouted.

"That's because you are." A stern voice said behind him.

He turned around and found himself being stared by an old man in a forest green cardigan. He was average height; approximately five feet and eleven inches. His flattop hair was light gray, and his chiseled face had a few wrinkles. In Leorio's opinion, the man was in good shape for his age and it somewhat made him feel inadequate. Then he came to the conclusion, that the man standing in front of him was the professor for this class. A sheepish smile formed on his face and the man noticed it.

"Just don't stand there young man, get into class." The professor ordered in a gruff tone.

Before he could enter the class, Mika interrupted him by walking over to the intimidating teacher.

"Professor Casper, I'm afraid that Leorio cannot access the class due to the inability to adapt to his new environment." She said in a polite tone.

When he heard those words from the girl's mouth, he felt his blood boil and he wanted to say something back at her. Before he could blurt out a curse word, Casper glared at Mika intensively, which made her shiver in fear. Without saying a word, she quickly went inside the room and closed the door. A sigh escaped from the professor's dried lips and he gave his attention to the hot-headed student.

"So you're the new 'hunter' who got accepted to this school...Congratulations but unfortunately I cannot allow you into my class until you finish your 'exam'." He explained in a concern tone.

"Exam?" Leorio asked in a confused tone.

'Why is he emphasizing his words?'

Professor Casper begin to cough nervously, "Shit I said already too much...Listen, I'll give you a week for you to finish your 'exam' and get one of my students to write down notes for you. However if you do not pass the test within this week, I have no other choice but to drop you. But in the mean time, get your shit together Mr. Paradinight."

The professor entered his classroom and closed the door shut, leaving a confused Leorio alone in the hallway. He walked down the silent halls and tried to figure out what exam he needed to take. But that was million dollar question, what 'exam' did he miss? This made Leorio's heart sink; all that effort he put into getting into a medical school was about to sink down the drain just because of some test he didn't know about. Then suddenly it hit him, the two words that the professor emphasized, 'hunter' and 'exam', made the light bulb in his mind shine brightly.

"THAT'S IT!" His scream echoed through the halls.

An old lady came out of a classroom and scolded him, "Pipe down! Class is in session!"

"Hehehe sorry m'am." He apologized with a goofy smile and walked himself out of the building.

He smiled to himself, 'I forgot I'm suppose to learn nen after I got accepted to this school. Come to think of it, when I was still studying for the entrance exams, I did meet that strange guy who was telling me about my potential and how I can make myself more amazing by letting him teach me something. I should have just let that dude teach me but then again that would completely ruin my schedule and he was freaking me out with his poses...now that I think about it who can I find in Waldhalle that can teach me nen? Who...'

He arrived at the school's courtyard and saw a familiar blue haired girl sitting near the school's fountain. It was Cider; who was talking to a group of students who looked like they were going to a dance recital. Then he remembered the conversation he had with her yesterday, she still owed him for ruining his dinner and his favorite suit. A grin formed on his face, maybe that anxious hunter can teach him to use nen and he had a hunch that she still remembers she still owes him big time. As Cider waved goodbye to the group of dancers, Leorio walked over to the fountain and got her attention by looming over her head. When she noticed a huge shadow blocked her sunlight, she slowly looked up and noticed who it was.


	4. The Girl and the Roof

A/N: Hello guys, here's the third chapter of Wonder x Balance and I hope you enjoy it. This chapter we finally see what Cider was doing in the Mystiker Library and Leorio's first day at the university. The two go on a dinner date and it isn't the most bomb-diggity moment they've experienced in their hot, young lives. Leorio is thinking of something that Cider can do for him, but what could it be? There's a saying that if life gives you lemons, make lemonade. But in some cases, it's best that you throw them and shout out "I hate lemons!".

Disclaimer: I do not own any songs used for the story, references, or Hunter x Hunter.

Songs: Title of the chapter: Cafe Nostalgia by Capo Blanco

-Cleaning the library: Gentle Mind from Cromartie High School OST

-Getting pumped up or intimidated by nen: Mystic Island from Hunter x Hunter OST 1

-Remembering friends and running to school- Hoshi ga Dossari na Yoru from Cromartie High School OST 2

-Figuring out what to do: Africa Karinba from Cromartie High School OST

-Congrats, you figured it out: ハンター パレード from Hunter x Hunter OST 1

Notes: *-Drinking fluids that contain electrolytes is a good remedy for hangovers.

Beneath Clara's cottage was Mystiker Library, the best place for Hunters to find ancient books and records, as well as storing their own discoveries on its shelves. When Clara's parents first moved to Waldhalle, they discovered that the cottage had a huge wine cellar. Seeing that Clara's father was a Knowledge Hunter, he decided that he would make the cellar a library for other Hunters to use. While it is accessible for most, there is one section that only double or triple star Hunters have access to. That area is known as the Blacklist Section; which it contains confidential records and cursed books that cannot are not to be seen by a normal person or a one star Hunter. It is also noted by the association that from time to time, a hunter from the agency must give the library an annual clean up. But little do people know, the place is now and forever riddled with cockroach-rat hybrids called "Ratroaches". Due to putting their origins stem from the Mystiker library having been built underground, and placing a cursed book near a rat and cockroach nest. They not only look horrifying but they can rip the limbs off a poor, unsuspecting hunter. It should also be noted that Clara's father had died from the first infestation of the ratroaches, leaving his wife to mourn for his death and his daughter fatherless.

"Ok, Curling by Tomie Gyo should be put...here. Oops!"

Cider accidentally dropped the horror book in hand. It landed face down on top of a poor, defenseless mouse. As she picked up the book off the rodent, she let out a horrifying squeal and to see the mouse's body had twisted much like a pretzel. Startled, the mouse scuttled away from her, proving that it was very much still alive and breathing. She grabbed the book off the ground and violently shoved it onto the shelves. Just as the book was stowed in its rightful place, a swarm of tiny black spiders crawled out of the crevices of the shelf and some of them started crawled on Cider's arm. Her voice echoed throughout the cellar as she shrieked like a banshee.

'Why does this have to be the only temp job available in Waldhalle?!' She thought in horror.

Once she shook the last remaining spider off her arm, Cider went over to the cart and checked if there were any books that need to be put back. Noticing there's no more books, she took out a list from her khaki pants' pocket and started to write something on it.

To do list for the Mystiker Library:

1) Clean the floors and shelves- check

2) Organize all the files and records in the Ancient Texts and History section- check

3) Document the records of past hunters who gained access to the library- check

4) Check for damages of previously borrowed books and return them to their sections- check but might need to put the Curling back on the cart and request for an nen exorcist back at the agency.

5) Eradicate the yearly ratroaches nest, which is currently located between the Sci-Fi and Biology section.

When she read the last task, she heard herself scream internally and her pupils shrank from the unwanted adrenaline flowing through her blood. The nest was one section away from her and she can already hear the hideous hissing coming from behind the book shelf. If she makes one mistake in destroying the nest, it's the not the ratroaches that's going to kill her it's the Temp Hunters' division that will have her head on a silver platter. Knowing it's not the time to wallow in fear of screwing up, Cider calms herself by letting out a few breaths and slowly walked out of the horror section. There she rolled up her yellow shirt blouse and exposed her forearms that were covered in bandages.

She stared at her bandaged hands, 'Ok it's already been three weeks and the injuries should have healed. Hopefully it won't end like last time...'

As she unraveled the dressings a smile of relief appeared on her face, her arms can finally move freely in the air and there is no sign of internal injury. She bravely walked over to the next library shelf, only to find something that looked like it came from one of the library's books. At the very end of the section was the notorious ratroaches nest and it was a sight to ignore. The nest was the size of a gigantic soccer ball and consisted of clear yellow slime which was covered with tiny specks of black fur. Those tiny specks were the babies, luckily for Cider, they have not yet molted into their adult forms which makes the job a little easier. She felt her skin crawl from the sight of the nest and gagged at the putrid odor coming from the ooze. Suddenly something started to crawl out of the slimy nest and it looked like an over sized sewer rat.

'I wish you were a rat...'

The mother made her appearance and it was another thing that the temp hunter can add to her list of nightmares. It had the legs of a roach and claws of a rodent, the furry body had the density of the bug's outer shell, and the head was a mixture of rat's ears and the roach's mouth. Cider slowly stepped back a little and a horrifying hiss emitted from the creature. Feeling threatened, small wet fur bawls crawled out of its home and started to hiss at their enemy.

'Got to keep the attacks in the right size. If I make them too small, the books might get destroyed. You can do this Cider!'

"Bubble bubble fizz..." she whispered calmly.

A thin layer of aura surrounds Cider's body and she slowly raise her hands up in front of her. A pool of aura formed around her hands and medium sized translucent orbs started to form on the tip of her fingers. Once the orbs took shape, she blew them towards the vermin and the bubbles floated above them. Suddenly, something furry crawled inside her pants leg. She tried to regain her composure by shaking off the thing that was crawling on her leg, but she noticed that the fragile orbs of aura were trembling. Before she could do anything to the bubbles, the vermin noticed her movements and pounced at her. Knowing that it's too late to play it safe, Cider closed her eyes and braced for impact.

"AND POP!" She shouted nervously.

The bubbles simultaneously burst and a small explosion erupted from it. The initial blast knocked Cider off the ground, causing her to crash into a shelf of books and knocking herself out cold. Ten minutes later, she regained consciousness and found herself buried in history books that smelled like mold. Once she got herself out of the book pile, she finally figured out what was crawling in her pants. It was the curly shaped mouse from earlier and it was making a squeaking noise that sounded like laughter. Before she could do anything to the deformed rodent, she noticed that the ratroaches and its nest was replaced with a soccer sized crater.

A disappointed Cider groaned; the fact that she was too close to the bubbles made her realize how rusty she's getting. She should be happy that she didn't destroy the books but the outcome from the task made the effort taste bittersweet. Before she can mentally beat herself down, a cheerful jingle played in her pant's pocket and she took out her cellphone, it was her boss.

"Yes..." She answered politely, "Uh-huh, the place is pest-free for the year and everything is clean...Wait, what was that? No I didn't know we need to take a sample of the pest sir...Oh you were joking? I apologize for not getting the joke. By the way, I found a book that needs to be checked by an exorcist...Curling by Tomie Gyo...Oh you already know that, I'm sorry for repeating it to you...Ok, thank you sir and have a lovely evening."

After being dismissed by her boss, she realized she had one more task to do and it was removing the book from the horror section. There she noticed that the entire section is now covered in webs and tiny spider roaming on the silk threads. This was gonna take a while.

On the other side of town is one of the residential areas and it's called, Sparsam. That district is known to be the cheapest place to live, shop, and eat in. Not as luxurious as the other districts, the place had the architecture and the whimsical charm that Waldhalle is known for. There are apartment complexes scattered in that area along with small shops and bazaars that people can buy things from without being hassled by greedy vendors. Unfortunately, that area has the most stairs and to get around from place to place, it is recommended that tourists need walk to their destination ahead of time and pray that they don't tumble down the huge pleat of steps. Another downside is that the shops close earlier there than the ones in town square or in other districts. Despite its flaws, Sparsam is peaceful and so serene that anyone who lived or stayed there for a night will be soothed by its atmosphere.

But due to a disturbance in one of the complexes, a certain fellow with his trademark suit hasn't settled in quite well...

"I'M NOT SOMETHING YOU CAN PERCH ON! SHOO SHOO GET OUT OF HERE!"

After having dinner and saying goodbye to the temp hunter, Leorio thought of celebrating his success in getting into one of top universities by drinking all night. Unfortunately, today was his first day at the university and he found himself hungover. His neighbor's scream weren't helping, the screams felt like someone was slamming his head with a sledgehammer. Wanting some instant relief, Leorio dragged his butt to the nearest convenience store, bought himself a *sports drink, and went back to his apartment. Once he came back to the complex, he was welcomed by the landlord and was forced to listen the old man's lecture for ten minutes. After the lecture, the landlord gave another thrilling ten minute lecture about welcoming Leorio to the Crocus Apartments.

Once the landlord said goodbye to him, Leorio went up the balcony's steps which was now covered in bird feathers. He ignored the mess and went straight to his new home in Waldhalle. His room had all the essentials; clean pine wood floor, a small kitchen, one bathroom, a futon, a TV set, closet and a floor mirror. Leorio crashed on to his futon and stared at the ceiling. For a moment, he thought about his friends and wondered what were they up to and how were they doing. Then he remembered the promise he made; the group made a vow to meet up at Yorknew City in September which was three months away. Curious about Yorknew City, he sat himself up and grabbed his laptop on the coffee table. He logged himself in the Hunter Association's official database on his laptop. On the screen was an article about Yorknew city and a pop up video that was advertising a recent popular magical girl anime. Before he could click on the ad, he noticed the clock on his sidebar and he closed his laptop shut.

"Shit I'm going to be late." He muttered under his breath.

He opened the sports drink and chugged down the neon green liquid in five gulps. Feeling slightly relieved, he went over to the bathroom and did his normal morning routine. After heavily grooming himself, he went over to the floor mirror and put on his dark blue blazer which was now clean from the parfait stains.

'Wonder how's that temp hunter doing?' He thought to himself, 'She's probably fine.'

As he looked at himself at the mirror, he couldn't help but check himself out and do a couple of poses. In his opinion he looked flawless; his suit was wrinkle free and his face was free of stubble. He put on his teashade glasses and gave a smoldering smile to his reflection; reassuring himself that he'll be a successful doctor. After giving himself a mental pep talk, he locked the apartment door and went on his way to the university. Knowing that he has a long way to the school, he started to pick up his pace and dashed through the pleats of stairs. The sensation of running reminded him of the hunter exam then he remembered himself getting his ass handed by a demented looking jester and the moments where he fumbled a bit in the exam. Despite the mistakes, he did pass and can now use the hunter license to pay off the bills from the school.

Forty minutes later, Leorio finally reached Schadel University and found that the school's courtyard was crowded with a huge amount of students. There he realized, Schadel was huge and it was a bit overwhelming for the suit cladded fellow. Knowing it's the first day for the daytime classes, he decided that it's best to walk around, find which building is his first class located, and possibly mingle with some students. During his walk, he noticed a group of students in lab coats and one of them caught his eye. It was a young lady with fair skin, long lavender hair, and sea-green eyes. The female student noticed him staring and gave him a warm gentle smile which made his heart skip a beat. He waved back with a goofy smile and the group of students walked off to the building behind him. Then he heard the bell ringing from the clock tower outside of the school, signaling students that the first set of classes are about to start.

"The bell!" Leorio muttered to himself and looked at his schedule on his phone, "Ok...first class is located in the Grynizen hall."

"You mean Glyzinien Hall and that's where I'm heading off too!" A chipper voice echoed behind him.

"Hm?"

Leorio turned around and saw a petite girl with blond braids wearing a light pink ribboned blouse. There he noticed the badge on her top which had 'Student Council' in bold cursive print and he felt that this was the luckiest day of his life. Not only he's in one of the top schools, he's surrounded with pretty women, and met someone who goes to his class who is honestly freaking him out by that smile of hers. But he could care less of the smile, he can finally start his first day of school. Inside of the Glyzinien Hall, the two students walked together in the empty and silent hallway. As the two walked, another set of students ran past them and the blond girl greeted them as they ran by. Suddenly the two students panicked, they went inside a nearby classroom and slammed the door shut. This caught Leorio's attention, the building felt empty and the students who were going to their classes were acting a bit strange. It was as if something disturbing was floating in the air and unfortunately Leorio couldn't put his finger on it just yet.

"I'm sorry I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Mika!" The girl responded in a chipper tone.

"Nice to meet you, names Leorio...say uh is the hallways in this school usually this quiet?"

"Why of course." She answered with glee, "All students who attend Schadell know that it's best to be quiet in class hours. After all this is a learning environment and it would be a terrible that someone breaks the rule."

"Uh sure..."

'This girl is giving me the creeps; I'm getting chills every time she smiles at me. I'm thinking too hard on it, the students are probably scared of her because she's probably the leader of the student council.'

"And here we are!"

The two arrived at their destination and Mika opened the door to the classroom. When she opened the door, something in the room didn't settle well with Leorio; he felt like he was going to die from failing the class. His chest tightened, his legs felt like they were glued to the floor, and sweat began to form on his brow. He calmed himself down by taking a few deep breaths, even though he feels threatened there was no sign of danger in the room. He tried to enter the room but once he set his foot into the door, the presence of pressure and death overwhelmed him.

He took a step back, 'Damn I can't go in there without having a heart attack but why?'

Then he noticed Mika entered the room. Before she went over to her seat, she saw that Leorio is still standing in front of the entrance and walked over to him.

"What's wrong? Come on in, no one's going to bite you."

"Easy for you to say! I feel like I'm about to enter a tank full of sharks!" Leorio shouted.

"That's because you are." A stern voice said behind him.

He turned around and found himself being stared by an old man in a forest green cardigan. He was average height; approximately five feet and eleven inches. His flattop was light gray, and his face had a few wrinkles. In Leorio's opinion, the man was in good shape for his age and it somewhat made him feel inadequate. Then he came to the conclusion, that the man standing in front of him was the professor for this class. A sheepish smile formed on his face and the man noticed it.

"Just don't stand there young man, get into class." The professor ordered in a gruff tone.

Before he could enter the class, Mika interrupted him by walking over to the intimidating teacher.

"Professor Casper, I'm afraid that Leorio cannot access the class due to the inability to adapt to his new environment." She said in a polite tone.

When he heard those words from the girl's mouth, he felt his blood boil and he wanted to say something back at her. Before he could blurt out a curse word, Casper glared at Mika intensively, which made her shiver in fear. Without saying a word, she quickly went inside the room and closed the door. A sigh escaped from the professor's dried lips and he gave his attention to the hot-headed student.

"So you're the new 'hunter' who got accepted to this school...Congratulations but unfortunately I cannot allow you into my class until you finish your 'exam'." He explained in a concern tone.

"Exam?" Leorio asked in a confused tone.

'Why is he emphasizing his words?'

Professor Casper begin to cough nervously, "Shit I said already too much...Listen, I'll give you a week for you to finish your 'exam' and get one of my students to write down notes for you. However if you do not pass the test within this week, I have no other choice but to drop you. But in the mean time, get your shit together Mr. Paradinight."

The professor entered his classroom and closed the door shut, leaving a confused Leorio alone in the hallway. He walked down the silent halls and tried to figure out what exam he needed to take. But that was million dollar question, what 'exam' did he miss? This made Leorio's heart sink; all that effort he put into getting into a medical school was about to sink down the drain just because of some test he didn't know about. Then suddenly it hit him, the two words that the professor emphasized, 'hunter' and 'exam', made the light bulb in his mind shine brightly.

"THAT'S IT!" His scream echoed through the halls.

An old lady came out of a classroom and scolded him, "Pipe down! Class is in session!"

"Hehehe sorry m'am." He apologized with a goofy smile and walked himself out of the building.

He smiled to himself, 'I forgot I'm suppose to learn nen after I got accepted to this school. Come to think of it, when I was still studying for the entrance exams, I did meet that strange guy who was telling me about my potential and how I can make myself more amazing by letting him teach me something. I should have just let that dude teach me but then again that would completely ruin my schedule and he was freaking me out with his poses...now that I think about it who can I find in Waldhalle that can teach me nen? Who...'

He arrived at the school's courtyard and saw a familiar blue haired girl sitting near the school's fountain. It was Cider; who was talking to a group of students who looked like they were going to a dance recital. Then he remembered the conversation he had with her yesterday, she still owed him for ruining his dinner and his favorite suit. A grin formed on his face, maybe that anxious hunter can teach him to use nen and he had a hunch that she still remembers she still owes him big time. As Cider waved goodbye to the group of dancers, Leorio walked over to the fountain and got her attention by looming over her head. When she noticed a huge shadow blocked her sunlight, she slowly looked up and noticed who it was.


	5. Affection

It's another chapter, and in it there will be a free check-up that consist of medical skinship, and light admiration between two people, which one of them has a proposal that the other might consider. Also, I would like to apologize the extremely slow pacing, which I will make sure to get the ball running in a good pace. Just a little heads up, the story will merge with the Yorkshin Arc soon, but there will be some additional things (ex. an arc within arc). Happy reading, and please leave a review.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Hunter x Hunter, references, or songs used in this story.

Songs: Title of the Chapter: Affection from the Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Battle Tendency OST (a bit of trivia, Cider is inspired by elements from the JJBA series.)

* * *

Arriving at Casper's health clinic, Cider walked along the pathway, and passed by a couple of people. In her hands was a box of quiches, and the magazine that her boss' daughter wanted. She laughed at herself mentally, the trip to the convenient store was awkward, and buying the magazine got her a lot of stares. However, she was not fully fazed from buying a 'personal' magazine for someone, and it was also not the first time someone asked her to buy something 'questionable'.

'I hope Mika doesn't mind of me buying the special edition version...' She thought worriedly, 'If she does get mad, Autumns is going to kill me!'

Entering the clinic, Cider was welcomed by the scent of a sterile yet spacious environment. Though the clinic maybe one of the best health centers in Waldhalle, it was known to be bare on certain days or even weeks, but also known to have their patients recover faster. Once her high heels clicked on the ground, Cider noticed her boss' daughter sitting at the information desk with an annoyed look on her face.

'She looks mad', Cider hid her nervousness with a soft smile and began to give herself a pep talk, 'Calm down, you can do this! Just deliver the quiches to Casper and the magazine to Mika...' She thought in a hectic manner.

"Excuse me," A polite voice said toward her, "Are you by any chance Cider Meiming?"

Snapping out of her trance, Cider found herself being stared by a young adult, which softened her expression. The eighteen year old was the son of Cider's client from her Jappon trip, and the client's son in high spirits temporarily relieved of her worries. The young teen had his hair in a braid, and wore orient designed silk clothing that smelt of ocean water. Though the two greeted each other with soft smiles, Cider wondered why the teen was here in Casper's clinic, and hoped that he wasn't hurt.

"You're Shichimi's son, Shouga, yes?" Cider asked politely, "W-what brings you here to the clinic?"

"Just came here for a check up before departing Waldhalle. Can't work on the fishing boat with an ill-conditioned body ya know?" He answered jokingly with a laugh, "And thankfully one of the doctors here told me that I would find you here."

A confused look formed on her face, "Is it alright to ask why you're looking for me? Oh no, did something happen to your mom and sister back in Jappon?!"

"No no, my family is fine, and its all thanks to you." Shouga said reassuringly, and bowed towards her, "Thanks for keeping my sister away from that spice mine, and those pesky thugs. I couldn't bear seeing mom crying again, losing dad was hard enough..."

Trying to remain composed, and Cider nervously beckoned the boy to rise up, "Oh, y-you don't need to thank me...But if you want too, that's fine too." She dejected as she lowered her head in shame.

The young fisherman glanced at Cider's shameful bow, and he tilted his head in confusion. Hearing words of gratitude felt somewhat foreign to the temp hunter, who had no idea on how she should react to the young man's thanks. It was a weird cocktail of emotions that was a mixture of happiness, relief, and a heavy dose of regret. Though her good deeds from her Jappon mission trip benefited her client's family, Cider felt that she could have done better in her trip, and spared herself from hurting herself.

"How's your sister, Anita?" She mumbled in a hesitant tone.

"Last I've heard of her, she's planning to retake the hunter exams, though she's still a bit crossed about dad's spice mines caving in." Shouga answered sweetly, "A-ah but don't worry though! My sister maybe mad about it, but she'll get over it! She doesn't hold a grudge long, I can guarantee on that one for sure."

Her lips formed into an awkward yet warm smile, "No worries, I'm glad to hear that she's doing fine." She replied.

The small conversation continued for about three minutes, and though it was somewhat uncomfortable for Cider, she continued to talk to her old client's son, who was thankful for the hunter's work. As they talked to each other, she noticed a familiar fellow in the corner of her eye, and it was none other than, Leorio, who was standing near the main lobby's desk. Realizing that he was taking up the temp's time, Shouga flashed a warm smile, and cut off the conversation short.

"I best be heading off to the piers or my boss will have my head." The eighteen year old chirped, "Thank you again Meiming-san, and it's a pleasure talking to a cute hunter like yourself~"

The young fisherman grinned as he exited the clinic, leaving alone a stunned temp hunter, who felt her cheeks warming up. Regaining her calm composure, she headed toward the information desk, and proceeded with delivering the goods to her boss' daughter, Mika.

'Gotta calm down, just deliver these things and maybe tell Leorio about my lame idea of making him my partner for jobs. He'll have a good laugh about it! I hope...'

* * *

After having a light lunch that consisted of airy egg tarts and bottles of mineral water, Leorio guided Cider through one of the clinic's long hallways. A long brisk walk later, they entered the empty patient room, and Leorio beckoned her to take a seat. Once he sterilized his hands, he sat himself in front of Cider, who had already took off her blazer for his convenience. From her wrists to her shoulders, the temp's arms were neatly bandaged, and it was safe assume that this was mostly Casper's handy work. He undid the bandages gingerly, and got himself a good look of her slender arms that was covered in wounds; light gashes and a couple of stitches.

He straightened out his glasses, "Alright let's take a look at your right arm first." Leorio said calmly with a smile.

Nodding her head, Cider extended her arm out toward him, and placed her hand on top of his. As he proceeded to check for abnormalities, he could not help but be a little shocked by the girl's calm demeanor. Truthfully, he thought the awkward girl would fidget like a kid during the observation, but strangely she remained still. Observing her left arm, Leorio took a few quick glances at a well composed Cider, whose warm golden eyes was glued to the tiled ground. Continually palpating the bandaged areas, Leorio was astounded by his professor's skills; the stitches were neatly done to avoid scars and the gashes were healing at a good pace. Just eyeballing the wounds indicated that she's on the right path of recovery, but then he recalled of yesterday's encounter; she flinched whenever she used her left arm. Pressing onto her upper left forearm, he received a jerked response her, and saw that she struggled to mask her discomfort with a calm front.

"Ah, sorry!" He apologized briefly, "Does it hurt here?"

"N-not at- Ow! Okay, my left arm hurts more than my right, but it's my fault for hurting myself in Jappon." She rejoined, and shamefully winced as he continued to press her forearm.

'Why does she keep blaming herself?'

"At least you're being honest," Leorio replied in an attempt to lighten her spirits up, and got a small nod as a response, "As long as you continue to remain calm, I promise to be extremely gentle with you. Be extra good, I can give you a nice shoulder massage." He requested with a dorky smile.

"I'll remain calm, but no massages please." She agreed with with an awkward smile, and he continued with his observation.

Just like he promised, Leorio attempted to be more gentle with palpating her sore forearm, and silently checked for misaligned bones with his chocolate brown eyes. As expected, the observation was taking a huge chunk of Cider's time, but she did not mind wasting it. She continued to gaze secretly at the rookie's skills, which she found impressive for a beginner. Though his skills were amicable, Leorio lacked the 'healing' touch that Casper had, which made the procedures more efficient and fast for the workers. However, the rookie doctor did have some traits to balance out the kinks, his friendly yet warm demeanor was very reassuring; making things more comfortable for patients. Admittedly, she found this examination somewhat enjoyable, but was it right for her to feel this way for a medical examination? Absolutely not, and she felt guilty for feeling that way.

"There we go," Leorio finished and smiled, "Your right arm is recovering nicely, but your left arm is still in bad shape, and it might take a week for it to fully recover. I suggest that you use your left arm sparingly, and apply a hot compress to reduce the pain." He explained clinically.

"Understood," she muttered, "Can't really be in lousy condition since the ballet class is having auditions in a few weeks."

"Oh yeah, I forgot that you study ballet at the university. So what kind of ballet are you guys planning to perform?" He asked, and hoped she wouldn't give a half-baked answer.

"Swan Lake," she answered briefly, "But I'm not planning to audition for major roles, since everyone is competing for the three main roles."

'She's opening up more than yesterday," he thought to himself in relief, "You mind talking about it more while I bandage your arms?"

"Not at all."

Complying to his request, she went on about her ballet class and anything related to it, but thankfully the conversation was not one sided. Exchanging comments about ballet and a little bit about her class ventures, Leorio returned the favor by talking his dreams; be a successful doctor and give free treatment to the needy. It was a pleasant trade off between the two, and one of them was struck by admiration for the other. Listening to his goals, Cider silently commended him again for not only his medical skills, but also his life goals. The fact he became a hunter because of losing his dear friend was heartwarming, and undoubtedly it also made the girl envious. However, that envy made the girl rethink about her past decisions that were not fully set in stone.

'If he can go through all that hardship and shake off it in his life to pursue his dreams...Maybe I can do that too.' She speculated, and recollected her thoughts, 'Although I don't exactly have that support system that Leorio has with his friends, there's nothing wrong of trying to aim a little higher.' The light bulb in her head lit up, 'Support...wait is it really a good idea to ask him to be my assistant for Yorknew?'

Questioning her self, Cider debated about asking him to be her partner, and speculated about his possible reactions. Though she does not know much about the medical field, she wanted to commend the rookie's skills, and his friendly demeanor.

'It's must be very nice to be like this to everyone and to your close friends.' She thought warmly, and moved her eyes to the floor, 'Okay...I made up my mind, I'll-'

"And there, you're good to go!" Leorio muttered with a grin, "You're quite lucky that I know you, or else I charge you for a huge sum of mullah!" He said jokingly.

"What's this about charging patients Mr. Paradinight?" A familiar voiced echoed through the room, and he sounded slightly vexed.

The two turned their attention to the entrance way, which made almost made Leorio turn pale white. Blocking the entrance was his teacher, Casper, who came back earlier than he suspected. Minutes later, Casper took over his pupil's seat, and rechecked the bandages on Cider, who was quieter than usual. The head doctor furrowed his brow, and grumbled a bit at how his student dressed her arms. Seeing his facial expression, Cider glanced at Leorio, who might be in deep trouble with the strictest professor at the university.

She gulped, "Uhm...Dr. Casper," she peeped, "I understand that you disallow your students perform medical tasks without your supervision, but this is not fully Leorio's fault, it's also mine too." She explained and noticed Leorio was a bit stunned by her words.

"Really? Care to explain why you; a seasoned temp hunter, would request a trainee to examine you?" Casper questioned with a stern glare.

**'Takes risks and don't be too hard on yourself.' **

Hearing her brother's words of encouragement, Cider temporarily brushed off her worries, and replaced her awkward glance with a confident one. Even though her decision might change things for both her and her underclassman's life, she felt invigorated talk like this again.

Cider continued to gaze at her practitioner determinedly, "Because..."

* * *

Tune in next time for the next Dragonba- err I mean the next chapter!


	6. Sukiyaki

Here comes another but slightly long chapter of Wonder x And x Balance, which I hope you will enjoy, and please leave a review!

**HUGE EDIT 10/4: **Chapters 7 and 8 are merged together!

Songs: -Title of Chapter: Sukiyaki (Ue o Muite Arukou) by Kyu Sakamoto (A song for a certain Egyptian blue haired gal who loves hot pot and for other characters too. The lyrics are sad, but it also foreshadows a few things about Cider.)

-A song for the boss' daughter: All Together! by Rin Kagamine

-Let's get to treasure hunting!: The Egg and I by Yoko Kanno

-"To be frank, you sometimes look sad." "Despite all the shortcomings I've had in my jobs, I'll always smile.": Poor Faye (Lip Cream) by Yoko Kanno

-Bonus song: The Journal by Jim Lang (hints at what kind of dream a certain girl has. To a certain degree that is.)

* * *

**'This is strange...I've done this before with others, so why do I feel like-'**

**"Cider...I'm about to-Ugghh!"**

**"J-just a little more...A-ahh! I-I'm at my limit as well!"**

Leorio's vision was turning hazy, but he kept himself from dropping like a sack of bricks, and he did looked like a sack of bricks. Covering his torso and limbs were weights that weighed about 55-60 lbs, which he admitted that it felt more heavier than the ones he wore during his trip to his friend's mansion. A small groan escaped his lips, and gazed roughly at the air conditioner on the opposite side of the wall. The gym room he was in lacked cool air, and a certain blue haired hunter was responsible for shutting it off. Droplets of sweat dripped from his brow, and he glanced at Cider, who was strapped with weights that were slightly heavier than his. Then he saw her wobbling slightly, indicating that she was about to throw in the towel.

"You know...it's not bad for calling it quits." Leorio suggested, "Too much exercising is bad ya know?"

"N-no, just one more minute and...NOW!" She shouted and stood up abruptly.

Due to her abrupt refusal, Leorio fell directly onto his padded back, which made him give out a load painful groan. Sitting himself up, he heard the sound of weights dropping, and stood a few inches away from him was an uncovered Cider that was surrounded in her nen. He wondered if this was the pros of being an Enhancer; a nen user that could enhance an object or body with their own aura. As another droplet of sweat landed onto the floor, Leorio led out a frustrated growl, and struggled to get the weights off. Even though it was a good workout, the lack of air condition and sweating profusely was a tad too much for the guy. Since his aura was not strong enough to push away the weights, he growled as he attempted to remove the weights manually.

"Hey don't just stand there get these things off me!" He muttered at the day-dreaming Cider impatiently.

"O-oh sorry Leorio!" She snapped out of her trance, and proceeded to remove his weights.

Once Cider took off the last remaining weights off his legs, Leorio himself up then led out loud satisfying sigh, and continued to lay on the matted ground. There he heard a relieved sigh from the girl, and she sat herself a few inches away from him. It's been two weeks since Casper approved him of being Cider's medical assistant, and yet there was still that invisible bubble around his 'employer'.

Getting the okay of grabbing a drink and hitting the showers, he walked over to his belongings, and grabbed a sports drink from his bag. Swallowing a few mouthfuls of his drink, he took a quick glance of Cider, who had anxious written all over her face as she weighed herself. That strange yet funny scrunched up expression told him that it had something to do with the ballet's rehearsals.

'It's been two weeks since those auditions, and she hasn't even told me what role she got...' He thought and recalled his stoic friend from the Hunter Exams, 'If I can make him talk, then I can make you talk! Better put out the big guns...' He broke the silence with a question, "Besides hearing another of Autumns' sermons, do you have any plans for today?"

"Nothing really, I'm just going to buy myself dinner and just sleep in." She muttered briefly, "W-which reminds me, would you like to have dinner with me Leorio?" She asked nonchalantly, yet somewhat hesitant.

He arched his eyebrow, "Huh? Cider are you asking me on a date?" He inquired, and received a jerked response from the girl.

"W-what?" She stammered, and tried to contain her composure, "O-of course not! I just thought uhm..."

Sound the alarms, the bubble was starting pop, which made a mischievous Leorio grin widely. If she truly wants him to be her assistant, then she needs to open up towards him and vice versa. Knowing that this was his chance, he proceeded with his plan of permanently (or temporarily) bursting her personal bubble, and this time, it had to be something that would really make her burst.

"Cider...I didn't know you were into that kink." He crooned, and led out a cry, "Kyaaaaaah I'm so embarrassed! My senpai wants to have a romantic dinner with me, how scandalous ahhhhh~" He continued and fluttered his eyelashes at her in a disturbing matter.

**"..."**

Those few seconds of silence was the moment Leorio knew; he popped Cider's personal bubble.

Her face flushed beet red, "Huh!? No no no, it's not like that!" She blubbered out frantically, and tried to explain herself, "I just wanted to bring you to a hot pot place that had a two or three for one special and have a chance to know more about you!"

Leorio led out a hearty laugh, "I'm kidding Cider."

"Oh..." The answer sank into her mind, "That's mean, but also a funny trick." She giggled oddly with a smile and her cheeks were still flushed.

"Glad that cheered you up," He felt accomplished, "But back to our dinner plans, how about we head to that hot pot place after talking to Autumns?"

Once he received an agreeing nod from his 'senior', Leorio headed off to the locker room, and was welcomed by the sight of other male temps that were chatting among themselves. They exchanged greetings and smiles toward the spectacled man, who was about to hit the showers. As a multitude of warm droplets hit his sore body, Leorio closed his eyes, and savored the few minutes of soaking in the shower. Then his ears perked up as he overheard one of the temps mentioning about the city, Yorknew, and the conversation got his full attention.

A man with a buzz-cut asked his buddies, "So did you guys get assigned to that job in Yorknew?"

"Thankfully no, that ditzy Meiming got it instead of me," One of the buzz-cut's buddies answered as he fixed his tie, "And from what I've heard, she begged Autumns for that job like literally on her knees begging."

"She must really want that job," The shortest man in the group chirped, "Then again, who on earth wants to do a full background check on blacklist hunter recruits in a city full of crime?"

"Lapdogs like Meiming who want to get chummy with their boss." The tie wearing man answered harshly with a chuckle.

The group of men continued their conversation and left the locker room, leaving Leorio alone in the showers. Aside from listening to the temps ragging on Cider, half of their conversation about Yorknew perked his interests, and reminding him that his 'meet up' with his friends was drawing near.

"Two whole months in Yorknew...I wonder what we'll be doing there?" He muttered to himself as he put on his dry cleaned suit, 'If she's really doing background checks, wouldn't that mean she'll decommission some of the hunters?'

He furrowed his brow, and recollected the last few assignments he did with Cider, who didn't seem to be doing her job well. The first job they've done together was exterminate a fresh nest of Ratroaches in the Mystiker library, which ended with wide gaping holes in the library shelves and a horrified Leorio slapping band aids on an unconscious Cider whose was bonked on the head by a textbook. The second job was a package delivery at the local bazaar, which ended with him haggling for a decent price from a merchant who convinced Cider into buying an over-sized lucky cat statue for her apartment. Then the recent job they completed was a night watch for an 'entertainment' business which ended with both of them knocking out a bunch of thieves and him laughing at Cider, who was rewarded with a bunch of obscene magazines from the client.

'Hopefully Augusts' jobs are interesting than the ones we've been doing...' He thought to himself with a smile, and his expression slowly softened, 'I wonder how Gon, Killua, and Kurapika are doing? It's been ages since I've last talked to them...'

After double checking for lint on his suit, Leorio put on his shades, and grabbed his belongings. Today's training session is over, and the next thing that needs to be dealt with is his boss' long winded sermons. Aside from listening to a work lecture, at least he had a 'dinner date' with his senior that was finally opening up to him. Walking to the elevator, he grabbed his cell phone, and called one of his closest friends.

'C'mon...I know you're probably relaxing at a hotel or something...' He thought as he waited for the elevator to open.

_"You have reached the number of Kurapika," _An automated voice answered his call, _"Please leave a message after the beep. Beep!"_

"Hey it's Leorio, if you're back from your training, give me a call so we can catch up! Keep yourself out of trouble Kurapika!"

Once he ended the call, a slight frown formed on his face, and he couldn't help but wonder if his friend, Kurapika, was alright. It's been weeks since he last saw him or his other comrades, and he would have the habit of not calling to check if they were doing okay. Deep in his heart, he hoped that the first of September would be a warm reunion, and maybe a chance to introduce his senior to them. Then he speculated if that was a good idea of introducing them to Cider, who is still shrouded in mystery. There's that possibility two or one of his buddies would disapprove her, and the chance of her awkwardly spilling her spaghetti at them.

'Maybe this hot pot thing will give me the answer if the idea is good or not.' He thought, 'Now that I think about it...she's usually the one paying things for me.'

Stashing away his cell phone, he entered the elevator, and found himself riding together with an unexpected stranger. It was none other than Mika, who had an uninterested look on her face, and was flipping a page from the pin-up magazine that Cider bought her weeks ago.

"Shouldn't you be in Casper's class?" He asked with a slight glare.

"Shouldn't you?" She retorted lightly, and put away her magazine in her bag, "I skipped class because my dad wanted me to meet my new caretaker."

'Caretaker? Why on earth does she need a caretaker at this age?' He remained composed, "Well since you're heading to the same level as me, how about I help you?"

"Thanks, but I can handle finding Gil myself so deal with your own problems." She answered coldly.

The temperature in his blood was rising, but he remained calmed, and waited quietly for the elevator to stop. Gil? That name sounded too familiar that it almost made Leorio's eyes bug out of his glasses. He prayed his assumptions were false and today's job has nothing to do with babysitting a girl with a silver spoon in her mouth. Finally the elevator opened, and when he was about to run out of the elevator, he found himself being face to face with Cider, whose looked like she was about to cry.

"Oi, what's wrong?"

Cider snapped out of her trance, but before she could say anything, someone pried into the conversation. It was none other than their boss, Gil Autumns, and his face was glowing with fatherly warmth.

"Aww my darling Mika, I see that you have met one of your caretaker's medical assistant."

* * *

After showering off the sweat from her body, Cider did her usual routine of making herself presentable. She put on one of her best suits, fixed her permanently colored hair, applied make-up, and lastly, smiled softly at her reflection. Few moments later, another temp hunter from a different sector caught her attention, and the former told her that Autumns has called her for a meeting. Knowing to not waste anymore time, Cider grabbed her belongings and headed off to meet her boss, who she hoped was in a good mood. The elevator ride was a bit nerve-wracking for her because she was forced into a small Q&amp;A with a few other female temps. It was same bunch of questions; what's your partner like? Did you choose him because he reminds you of Casper? Do you like older looking men?

Cider replied to the questions with simple answers that unfortunately didn't sated the gossiping co-workers' appetites. Finally, the elevator reached her stop, and she quickly said her goodbyes to her subordinates, which one of them mentioned a name that was familiar to her.

**"You know that hunter in Zaban City, Ikaros? They didn't find his body."**

She turned around to listen into the conversation, but the elevator was already closed shut. Shrugging it off, she walked through the hall of paper filled cubicles, and as she passed by her cubicle, she overheard a group of temps talking among themselves, and one of their comments caught her attention.

**"That former Temp Hunter whose working in Zaban City got killed."**

**"Hey, doesn't one of the temps here worked with him before?"**

**"Shh! Stop talking guys, Meiming is here."**

"Oh don't mind me, continue with your break you three." She flashed a warm smile at her coworkers and headed to her boss' office.

Cider knocked a few times, and once she got the approval of entering, she turned the knob with a greeting smile. She welcomed by the scent of earl grey tea, and the pleasant sounds of stirring a spoon in porcelain tea cup.

"Good afternoon Autumns-sama," Cider said politely, "Is there something that you need?"

Autumns glanced at Cider wearily, and told her to have a seat on one of cushy leather chairs. Judging from his face, it was safe to assume that he was conflicted about something, and she wondered if was because of the last few assignments that she had done with Leorio. The mishaps from the library, the impulse buy from the bazaar, and keeping the 'obscene' magazines for the 'articles' probably got her boss' attention, which made the girl berate herself mentally.

She opened her mouth, "Sir, if it's about what I've done from the last few assignments, I deeply apologize for my actions."

Autumns' arched his eyebrow, "What?" He asked, and flashed her a wide grin, "Nonsense Cider, you haven't done anything remotely bad for the last few weeks. Aside from the huge holes you made in the library and you attempting to bribe the culprits by offering your 'undergarments', partnering up with that loud mouth rookie is doing wonders for you." Autumns explained as he sipped his tea and like the sugar in his cup, his grin melted away, "Though it's a little bit concerning since I usually get complaints about you, but I shouldn't complain."

'W-wait, how does he know that I tried to offer my panties to one of the kidnappers?' She thought with concern, 'L-Leorio did you write that on the report!?'

"Yes sir." Cider agreed with a smile, "So, what is it that you need to talk about?"

Autumns placed his teacup down, "Straight to the point, that's another shocker for me." He muttered under his breath, "Anyway, an old buddy of mine from the Association headquarters in Zaban City wanted me to relay this message to you." He said and then took a deep breath.

Once the message escaped from Autumns' lips, Cider bowed her head and closed her eyes softly. The news from the gossiping hens were right, the former Temp Hunter, Ikaros, had passed away a week ago, and a viewing was being held today. Though she knew little of the former temp and weren't exactly on good terms, the sudden news tugged on her heartstrings. After a few minutes of silence, Cider raised her head up, and noticed Autumns placing a CD onto his desk.

"Aside from the dreadful news, I have the dossier and assignment files for Yorknew for you." Autumns switch the gloomy subject, "When you have the time, review some of the applicants, and get the gist of who could be the next bodyguards for the Nostrade family."

"Understood sir." She answered with a composed expression.

"Which reminds me, you're not planning on doing something else besides your dance recital and the main assignments in Yorknew right?" Autumns inquired in a gruff tone, "Considering that you have a 'background' in Yorknew, it's wise that you don't get involved any danger just to relive those days. I'm already sticking out my neck for you, so be thankful that I was nice enough to sweep your case under the rug and sympathize your greatest failure..." He continued on with his lecture about his career and hinting at Cider's past shortcomings.

As much as a condescending jerk her boss could be, Autumns was right though, and it was best to not interfere with any of the criminal gangs or any delinquents hiding in the seedy places of Yorknew. However, a part of her heart was urging her to do the things that she wanted to do in the city, but she snuffed it out by ignoring it. When the urge finally subsided, it was then replaced with a burning question that made petticoat gal cringe slightly.

_**'Why do you want to go to Yorknew?'**_

The million dollar question made her stomach heart, and she couldn't think up of a good answer to relieve her symptoms. Even if she could find an answer to ease her pain, Autumns rubbing salt into her old wounds made it worse. The lecture continued, but Cider wasn't fully paying attention to it, and found herself wallowing in the muddy memories of her past. She thought that looking into some of her memories would help her, but it only made her feel more lousy, and weirdly nostalgic.

_"Cider please tell me, what happened to Pietre?"_

_"He's gone Cherie, so please leave it at that!"_

'It's not the right time to think of Cherie or _him_ now...' She felt her eyes watering up, 'I'll pay my respects to Ikaros the day before the trip...'

"So please Meiming, don't do anything stupid or 'heroic' in Yorknew, just do the job, and leave it at that. Before you go, let me introduce you and Paladinight your new assignment, maybe taking care of my Mika would convince you to follow her as an example of being an excellent hunter." Autumns finished his lecture and guided Cider out of his office.

"I'll make sure to keep Mika happy sir." She agreed at her boss again, and masked her sadness with a smile, 'Don't cry, smile Cider!' She encouraged herself, but the attempt left her with a faltering smile.

The two walked over to the elevator, and Cider continued to keep her tears from flowing out of the corner of her eyes. They reached the elevator, and Cider found herself being stared at Leorio, who took notice of her watery eyes. He asked what was bugging her, but their boss interrupted the conversation. In a weird way, she felt relieved of Autumns butting in the conversation, granted, she thought it was sweet of Leorio to ask her if she was okay, but she didn't to trouble him with her own idiotic problems.

"For the next few days, you two will be taking extreme care of my Mika." Autumns described in a prideful tone, "Well run along you two, keep my Mika safe and sound! And Mika if those two do anything bad, _**call me.**_" He told his daughter in a griming tone.

* * *

The three remained silent as they were walking through the business district. When they arrived at the train station, Leorio squinted at the fact the girls were not speaking to each other or talking to him. Getting tired of the awkward silence and being in the dark, Leorio broke the silence by putting his hands on both the girls' shoulders. While Cider was startled by the touch, Mika glared slightly at Leorio, and quickly removed his hand off her shoulder by pinching it.

He pulled his away from Mika, who walked herself over to a soda machine, 'Yeesh, I have a feeling that girl is gonna rain our parade, and I can imagine she's worst than Autumns.' Leorio thought heavily and glanced at a gloomy looking Cider, 'But for her, it's looks like Autumns or something got the best of her...' He then flashed a sly grin at the ladies, "So, what should we do for the rest of the day ladies? Get ourselves dinner? Go at a hotel?"

"I think it's best we head to the Golden Pot to get the special sukiyaki special, but if you're tired Leorio, I'll be glad to buy you room so you can take a power nap."

Leorio arched his eyebrow at Cider, "Y-you know I'm kidding right?"

"Yes." Cider answered and stuck her tongue out jokingly.

"You gotta work on your delivery when you joke with people," He groaned, and whispered, "So, what did Autumns say to you?"

She smiled sheepishly at Leorio, who laughed nervously at her scrunched up face. He hoped that his senior wouldn't surround herself in an isolated bubble again, but something is telling him that she'll shroud herself in her mystery again. However, his hypothesis was proven false, and it was thanks to his mistake of writing an awkward incident that occurred from their last assignment.

"I can't tell you that, well not right now anyway," Cider answered calmly, "I tell you later okay?"

"I'll take your word for it, and you better not slime your way out of answering my question missy." Leorio explained smugly.

"Pfft, if you two are done talking." Mika butted in with a scowl, "You two need to pick up my package!"

The duo turned to their attention to Mika, who had two cans of soda in her hands. Once she got their attention, Mika told the two to get her package at the farthest end of the shopping district of Waldhalle, and she'll wait for them at the Golden Pot in Sparsam. The package was important to the girl, and it was a part for her precious laptop that was stowed away in her expensive handbag. Though Leorio wanted to protest, the thought of this being an treasure hunt perked his interests, so in the end he obliged. Even if he did object to the spoiled girl's orders, a certain blue haired hunter would not allow that, and beg him with her trademark scrunched up expression of hers. The two temporary caretakers agreed to her terms, and Mika surprises them with a cute smile.

"Thank you so much you two and I hope you'll enjoy adventure!" Mika exclaimed sweetly and handed the two the soda cans, "I'll wait for you two at the restaurant! Bye bye~" She bid farewell at the two and entered the train to Sparsam.

The train had departed from the station, and Leorio stared at the soda can quizzically. Maybe his assumptions about the boss' daughter was wrong, maybe she was a swell gal, and those horror stories about her that was floating around in the agency were just urban legends.

"You know, maybe this job isn't going to be as sucky as I thought it would be." Leorio shared to a smiling Cider. Together; both of them popped their soda cans open, and were welcomed by the sudden spray of bubbly carbonated goodness.

"UGH MY SUIT!" Leorio screamed loudly that it echoed throughout the station.

**"Ohohoho, I can't believe they fell for that~"**

* * *

The duo walked through the paved streets of Waldhalle, and as usual, the street vendors were about to close their shops for the day. After the incident with the soda cans, both of them felt that their day couldn't get any worse, and one of them wanted to punch their boss for giving them this job. After walking down the path of shame, the two reached their destination, and was met by the sight of fishy looking merchants, and bizarre looking shop designs, which one of them looks like a mushroom house from a cartoon.

He pulled out his handkerchief out of his suit pocket, 'If a blue colored man in white clothing comes out of that shop, I'm done for today.' Leorio declared to himself, and noticed a blue colored shop owner wearing white coming out of the shop, and greeted him with a smile, 'I take back everything I said earlier.'

"Ugh, I dunked my head in the restroom sink and I still smell like coke..." Cider griped and glanced at her junior who continued to stare at the happy blue shop owner.

"At least you got a sink, the men's restroom was out of order, and now I'm all sticky." Leorio scowled, and wiped away the remaining stickiness from his face, "So which one is the shop?" He asked and looked at the grungy shops around them.

"Electronicas should be in this district, but I don't see it anywhere."

"Oh, if you're looking for the shop Electronicas, that place moved into that building complex three blocks from here!" The blue shop owner informed the two, "Be careful though, that place is not friendly to suits or heels, and you'll get wet from the water."

"Don't worry, we're already wet and sticky anyway." Leorio stated to the cheerful man, who was flustered by the comment, "Let's get the stupid package, and get the hell out of this place." He glowered between his teeth, and guided a confused Cider away from the seedy shops.

Just like the happy shopkeeper said, the shop was within a business complex, but he left one minor detail about the place. The whole entire building was abandoned, and the interior was enough to convince anyone that this place was uninhabitable. Not wanting to call it quits, Cider strutted over to the map of the building to find the floor that the shop was in, while Leorio went to grab a hold of the elevator.

"Okay, the shop should be at the 32nd floor?" Cider muttered in shock, "All the way down there?!"

He tapped the elevator button a few times, "Bad news, the elevator is not working." Leorio declared and noticed a ring of rope hanging from the wall, "Looks like the only way to go there is by using that."

"I'm not exactly dressed for sliding down levels Leorio..." She swayed her hands to show her attire; a sheath dress and a petticoat.

"Relax I won't look up, though I am a bit curious." He reassured her and stared deeply at her hair, "Since you said your hair color was caused by an experimental hair treatment, does that mean the-"

She slapped her hand on top of his mouth, "No they don't match!" She scoffed and rolled up her sleeves, "I'll climb down first, and you'll follow me from there okay? Now please don't ask me those questions, we're working here!" She begged and felt the blood rushing from her cheeks, "It's already awkward as it is now that half of the agency knows what kind of undergarments I'm wearing..."

"Wait, you were being honest at that time?"

"AND POP!" She interrupted his thoughts by bursting a medium sized nen bubble to open the elevator doors. After tying the rope to a sturdy column, Cider got herself into position, and slid herself through elevator shaft. It's a long fall from where they were, and she repressed the negative scenarios from playing in her mind. Getting the okay, Leorio slid himself down the rope, and whistled at the dark abyss below them. As the whistle echoed through the ducts, the building began to tremble, and the two gasped at the falling elevator pummeling towards them. Without any hesitation, the two swung the rope and grabbed the railing on the wall inches away from them.

**"AHHHHHHHHHH~!"**

The busted elevator along with a few pieces of rusted metal and bolts fell into the abyss. Still hanging from the rope, the two slowly regained their composure back, and checked if there was another way of getting to the shop. After looking around for a good two minutes, Leorio noticed that one of the ventilation hatches was about to break off, and while it may be risky going through an old ventilation system, it was better than going down a rope in a dark tunnel way.

"I'll bust this open, give me a sec" He told his senior and began kicking the rusted hatch.

A sigh of relief escaped Cider's lips, "That was close." She looked up at Leorio who was gripping the railing for his dear life, "L-Leorio are you alright?" She asked and tried not to laugh at his girlish scream.

"N-never better." He responded, and finally kicked the hatch down, "Okay there!"

As she watched Leorio shimmy his way inside the ventilation shaft, she then noticed something glimmering on one of Leorio's cuff links, which almost looked like a glossy mechanical chip. Shrugging it off, the two continued their way into the ventilation shaft, and encountered weird obstacles. One point, they fell thru the shaft, and found themselves submerged in water. Soaked to the bone, the two waded through the water that was filled with debris and 'weird' creatures.

"Tell me again why on the world we're going through all of this for a spoiled prankster?" Leorio groaned exhaustingly.

"Because she's the boss' daughter and we need the money." Cider exclaimed under her breath and suddenly felt something crawling on her leg. Grabbing the thing off her leg, she found herself staring at a weird goldfish that had puckering lips.

**"Ugh, I just bought these heels!"**

* * *

Finally reaching the 32nd floor, the duo was welcomed by the sight of neon colored lights, and a young woman with glowing goggles. The shop owner took notice of the two, who looked like a set of sad wet cats, and she grinned at them sweetly as an attempt to raise their spirits. They smiled tiredly at her, but deep down the two were spent, and one of them wanted to cry, not because of the recent mishaps, but because she wanted to mourn for her loss.

"My my you made this far to come to my shop! Welcome welcome~" She greeted cheerfully, "So what brings you here to my emporium?"

Nothing came out of Cider's mouth, all she had was a scrunched up expression on her face again, but this time it was mixed with sorrow and sadness. Leorio couldn't blame her for wanting to break down, after all, he and the people he knew had their fair share of bad lack. However, this type of sadness felt too familiar, and it reminded him of a precious memory that he stored away in his heart, the sole reason why he wanted to become a doctor. Then it hit him, 'Wait those rumors about that temp hunter, was she close to him?'

He sighed softly and looked towards the shopkeeper, "We're here to pick up a package for Mika Autumns." The shades wearing man answered tiredly.

The goggled woman nodded, and told the two to take a rest on one of the burnt out desk computer monitors. Leorio sat himself on top of a broken computer tower, and began to clean the grime off his good pair of teashades. At a glance, he looked fixedly at an apologetic Cider, who was wringing out the water from her black petticoat, then as usual she bowed her head to him with a shameful smile.

"Sorry for dragging you into this crappy job," A teary eyed Cider apologized kindly, "I should have warned you before that the temp business isn't as glamorous like the other professions and my boss can be a bit of a jerk sometimes."

Again she's apologizing for things that she couldn't control, and still had a smile on her face. It was oddly irritating to him, and he couldn't help but wonder if she had any bile in her system. Anyone with a shed of anger would be mad about the crappy assignments and the gossiping hunters at the agency, but this girl just takes it as if she deserves it. If anything, she should be mad about her boss for putting up with his daughter, and tell him that she was in mourning.

He put on his glasses and sighed lightly, "No need to say sorry, to be honest it's better than sticking around the university all day long." He admitted and offered his handkerchief to Cider, "But why did you choose to be a temp hunter of all things? I mean being around gossipy co-workers, being told off by your boss, and getting smacked around in your jobs has to at least piss you off."

"I don't mind it really." She answered bluntly, and wiped a few tears from her eyes, "Despite all the misfortune, I do like my job Leorio." Cider flashed a genuine smile, "Being able to see different places and knowing other hunters and regular folk minuses the bad things from this line of work. That and I almost feel like I'm one step closer into finding- Ahh I'm sorry I didn't mean to gush about one of my dreams."

"No dreams are stupid," Leorio protested, "So fess up, what's your dream?"

Even though he spit-balled a few hard hitting questions, the conversation was pleasant for her, and she understood why she felt this way. It's been ages since she had a chance to talk to someone about these things and exchanged questions with a friend. However, something like this doesn't always last long, but for now, Cider savored this quaint moment between theme, and told the rookie of her dream.

"Ah I see..." He smiled to himself, "That's nice of you and your brothers to do that for your mom."

"Mhm," She nodded warmly, "Though it's not as gallant like other peoples' dreams."

"Now don't go on saying that," He interrupted her, " Any dream is valuable, just like any form of money."

"You and your money Leorio..." She retorted jokingly.

"You and your bad luck Cider." He grinned at her.

Before they could continue their conversation, the shop keeper returned to them with a small letter, which was written for the two. Leorio swiped the letter from her hands and ripped it open, only to find the words 'Jokes on you' written in red ink. When the words reflected off his shades, his pupils shrank, and he felt the temperature of his blood rising. Though Cider remained composed, she too felt her blood simmering, but she refrained from expressing her rage. Then she gazed at the raging rookie's cuff links again, only to find that the small mechanical button focusing it's lens at her and suddenly vanishing in front of her eyes.

"Leorio," She placed her hand on his shoulder, "Calm down, we can't be mad on an empty stomach."

"How on earth can I calm down?! She ruined my suit and she made us go to this 'fun-house' just to trick us. Aren't you even mad about it, for god's sake she ruined your heels!?"

Hearing about her heels made her blood boil, and he could see it through her smile, "Don't worry we'll get even, I promise."

* * *

Inside the Golden Pot restaurant, Mika was sitting by herself at a table that had two empty seats, and gazed at her laptop's screen. In the past few hours, Mika was watching the two hunters go through the obstacles of getting her 'package', and it was thanks to her nen ability, Five Times The Fun. Before she left the station, she hooked on a tiny device on Leorio's cuff link, and from there she could watch the two struggle on her laptop. This was not the first time she did this to any of the temps, and to this day, she was never caught.

'Oh what fools, this will definitely make them quit their job of taking care of me. I don't need anyone to babysit me, I can take care of myself, and I will convince that mess of dad to stop him from coddling me with these weirdo temps.'

She continued watching the last remaining minutes where Cider talked about her dreams, something that made Mika cringe with disgust. When she finally closed her laptop shut, her nostrils was welcomed by the scent of sewer water, and her senses was welcomed by a dreadful aura that almost made her skin crawl. Cider and Leorio greeted her with startling smiles, and the two grabbed themselves a seat.

She coughed a bit, "Well, look at the time, it's best that you bring me home or I'll report it to my dad."

"Okay, tell him, and we'll tell him that you were using your nen abilities without his permission." He said to the client calmly, and took out his phone.

"You're bluffing."

"The phone is ringing." He told her as put on the speakers on.

Mika lowered her glasses at Leorio, "You wouldn't. C-Cider tell your assistant to desist this foolery!"

"Yes, can we get the special with extra chilies and a few rounds of beer? Thank you." Cider smiled at the waiter, "But Leorio is right though Mika, we have to give a report to your father, it's our duty to tell him about your well-being and how much of a jerk you can be..."

"Irrk."

Hearing those words from that chummy blue haired girl shocked her, but she was following her orders, just like any type of lapdog. Mika grumbled stubbornly, and moments later, she smiled at her caretakers grudgingly. She couldn't believe it, someone caught onto her antics, and truthfully, she enjoyed it.

'Why is this so much fun? I've been caught for crying out loud! Yet, this is so much better than what I've been doing.'

"Hello Autumns-san, it's me Leorio and I have something I need to tell you. You see Mika-"

Mika took the phone out of his hands, "Ah dad, everything's fine! Meiming and Paladinight are taking really good care of me! Mhm, I'll see you later back at home, love you~" She hung up the phone and threw away her cute disposition, "Okay, is that enough for the two of you?"

"I don't think that's enough seeing that you ruined my suit, Cider's heels, and our appetites for high quality meat." He remonstrated.

"Yeah yeah, I'll pay your stupid suit, replace the heels, and pay for dinner. I have to say I'm impressed with both your efforts and making me squirm. Maybe you temps aren't as bad like the ones that took care of me." She muttered quickly and began to put in the ingredients into the boiling water, "Ugh this isn't even Grade-A Beef. Hey waiter, we asked for high quality cuts, not dog food!"

Once the waiter went back to the kitchen to grab another round of meat slices, the three talked among each other with rounds of beer, and waited for the food to boil. The conversations were brief, but they were filled with stories and comments that ranged from hilarious to pleasant.

"Is it almost done yet?" Leorio asked and felt his stomach caving in.

"You can't rush perfection!" Mika explained took a taste of the broth, "D-dear god, Cider how many chilies did you put in this!?"

"Around eight."

"Isn't that a bit much Cider?"

"No way, spicy food is great!"

"Ugh, my mouth is burning!"

* * *

And so begins an adventure that's balanced with wonder...


	7. Shiritai

Hello everyone, here's another chapter of WxB that I hope you will enjoy. Also, somewhere in the future, the story's rating might bump up to the M rating, but again that's in the far future.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Hunter x Hunter, references, the images used for the cover, or songs used in this story.

Songs: -Shiritai by Izumi Makura (Song was used in the stellar anime, Space Dandy. The song can be heard in both perspectives of the featured characters in this chapter.)

-Mika is not a goober, so she wants to leave: Smile, Darn Ya, Smile! by Toon Chorus (It's a funny song)

-Bar Music 1 (the awkward one sways to the melody): Mangetsu no Dolce from the Aria the Animation OST

-The two become friends: Shiki ~Soshite Boku wa Umi ni Kaeru from the Aria the Origination OST

-'So that's what a home looks like...': Treasure Every Moment from Kare Kano OST

* * *

_"Urgh...My little boy just became a dad."_

_"Really? That's wonderful news Ikaros-sama!"_

_"Hm? Yeah, it's a good thing huh? Once this blows over, I want to introduce you and the others to my son. Drinks are on me."_

"Oi lady, are you just gonna daydream or are you gonna order something to drink?" A muscular man asked gruffly and polished a glass cup with a towel.

Once the buff bartender called out to Cider, she snapped out of her trance, and mumbled out what kind of beverage she wanted. Getting a gentle nod from the barkeep, Cider was left alone to her memories again, which made her smile softly. It was five days before the trip to Yorknew, and Cider decided to pay her respects to the temp hunter, Ikaros. Granted she wanted to do it on the day before the departure, but she needed those last few days to soak and relax her tired body. All those rehearsals, tending to Mika, and having training/study sessions with Leorio was quite taxing to her body, yet strangely in the longest time, she was enjoying every single minute of it.

"Here ya go," The bartender slid to the drink to the lady in black and wearing fine jewelry.

"Thank you," She responded kindly, and noticed a small bowl of assorted snacks beside her drink, "Oh wait, I think you accidentally gave me someone's-"

"It's on the house," The barkeep told her and took notice of her outfit, "Mind as well enjoy a snack till the rain dies down. Don't ya have an umbrella?"

"I don't mind getting soaked..." She said with a warm smile, "Thank you again." She repeated and bowed slightly to him.

He went off to tend to his other patrons, and Cider gazed at the colorful looking drink. It was a frilly little cocktail that consisted of fruit juices and was decorated with a fancy umbrella toothpick. From what she could remember, this was one of the bars that Ikaros highly recommended and was a personal suggestion to the girl. After staring at the cocktail, Cider took a few sips from the straw, and was surprised by how the flavors bounced off her tongue. The sourness and sweetness from the fruit balanced out the bitter taste of the liquor, and the coldness of the ice could soothe anyone's heart. Then she tried the snack mix; the roasted fava beans, rice cracker peanuts, and dried anchovies complimented the tangy drink.

'This is delicious!' She was surprised and took another sip of her drink, 'You must have enjoyed this place quite a lot...'

Her expression softened, and as the waves of nostalgia struck her, she lowered her head. The warm atmosphere of the bar, the music playing the background, and the special drinks felt too surreal for the temp. Even though she had lived in Waldhalle for a year, the thought of coming to this bar never crossed her mind, and it was because not only she was busy with work, but also the fact she believed she wasn't welcomed here.

'He was right, this bar is great...' She thought to herself, and sighed to herself, 'To you Ikaros.'

After giving a toast, she continued with her drink and snack, and enjoyed the quaint atmosphere of the bar. Even though the hunter's death was tragic, something in Cider's heart pleaded to her that he didn't want anyone to mourn over his death. She attempted to recollect any pleasant memories about him, but it all came out muddy and murky in her mind.

'What was that thing he always say? She sighed lightly, 'I can't remember much about him or the others, but maybe it's for the best.'

Spending another thirty minutes in the bar, Cider finished up her cocktail and snack, and placed down a hefty tip on the bar. Leaving the bar, she was welcomed by a light sheet of rain that had covered the whole town of Waldhalle. Unfortunately, all she had was a hat to shield her from the rain, but like she said to the barkeep, she didn't mind being caught in the downpour. It was almost 6:00 PM and it was the time to pick up Mika from her 'daycare'.

'Isn't she too old for that though?' Cider asked herself, but quickly shrugged it off, 'I know I shouldn't question it, but she always frowning, and forces a smile at him...'

Cider refrained her mind from questioning her boss, and walked through cobblestone streets. Though all she heard was the rain, the music from the bar kept playing in her mind, and without realizing it, she was moving along to the unheard song. Suddenly, she bumped into someone, and stumbled towards a muddy puddle. Her cheeks flushed red, 'Gah! What am I doing, I look like a weirdo!"

She gained her footing back, but also got her new pair of heels wet with dirty water. Ignoring the minor mishap, she went to apologize to the stranger, but they were already gone. Out of nowhere, she was welcomed by the unsettling sensation lingering in her body, which caused her to shroud herself in her nen. That abnormal aura was coming from somewhere in the area, but Cider couldn't exactly pinpoint where it was coming from.

As she sealed her nen away, Cider straightened out her hat, and thought 'Something doesn't feel right, it's strong yet faint, but it must be the drink kicking in. I need to stop being overly paranoid or my hair will turn white.' Once more, she glanced at the cloudy sky, and strutted off to the other side of town to pick up Mika. Even though she blamed it on the alcohol, she was wrong, and somewhere on the rooftops was a fuchsia haired man, licking his lips.

_"Hm~ hm~"_

* * *

At the other side of the huge shopping district, there was a colorful cafe called Süß Deluze, and it smelt heavily of sugary fruit. Inside were children and parents who were having a good time with parfaits, and the cartoony animal mascots who were entertaining them. One patron on the other hand was not enjoying the overly zany atmosphere, and she was sulking heavily at her ridiculous looking parfait. It was none other than Mika, who had her blonde hair tied in a bun, and was wearing dress with over-sized ribbons. Although she had a love of cute things, she thought the dress was tacky, and it was recommended by her father himself.

Before she stuck out her foot to one of the mascot employees again, she noticed a familiar twenty year old who was caught into a dreaded dance circle. While she ate some of her parfait, Mika continued to watch the awkward temp hunter's encounter with the children and mascots. The temp's hat was taken off by a young five year old, and she giggled in response to it.

"A-aren't you cute?" Cider mustered out nervously, and the young girl placed the hat back on her head.

Although there was a nervous smile on the temp's face, Mika could tell it was genuine which was something that she had a hard time doing. Though it was entertaining, she was annoyed by the temp's kindness, and a curious thought formed in her head. From what she recalled, all the temps at the agency ranged from average to awful, and yet her dad approves of them. Then you have this girl, who seems to be doing everything by the book and does everyone's bidding, and yet her boss doesn't speak highly of her. It may not be her problem, but if her dad spoke highly of her and the lazy temps, why not that girl?

'If my dad really hates her guts, maybe emulating her would get him off my back!'

A familiar voice spoke out to the seventeen year old, "I apologi-."

"No need to say sorry," Mika interjected, "But if you really want me to forgive you then, can I spend the night at your place? It's raining, and there's a lot of traffic at the hotel I'm staying at."

Cider nodded swiftly, "Of course, the rain isn't going to die soon, and I hate to see you catch a cold. U-uhm I should warn you, my place isn't extravagant like yours, and my 'neighbors' won't let me hear the end of bringing company. But don't worry, I'll take the blame for it!" She cringed to herself mentally, 'Forgive me Leorio, but I'm not trying to get fired from this job or have Autumns breathing down my neck!'

"Hey, your cheeks are getting red. Are you thinking about that glasses wearing gorilla?" She inquired bluntly.

Before her temporary caretaker could reply to that question, a waiter interrupted the two and kindly said the seventeen year old "Excuse me Miss, are you done with your parfait?"

Mika rolled her eyes and tipped the parfait purposely, "Keep the change." She smiled smugly and handed the man three massive numbered dollar bills, "So, where do you live Cider?" Mika switched the topic, and dragged the young woman out of the godforsaken kiddie parlor.

"I live in the Crocus Apartments in Sparsam." Cider answered lightly, and gripped onto her clothed chest gingerly.

* * *

Being guided, and being shielded by the rain with her ribboned parasol, Mika looked at her surroundings. Comparing to the places that her father makes her stay at, this homely district was foreign to her. She led out a groan, and asked the temp if they were almost at the apartment complex. "We're almost there!" Cider reassured her, and then offered the young girl a piggy back ride.

Mika scoffed at young woman's offer, "As if you can lift me, you don't look like a weight lifter."

"Well of course, but that's because I don't think being buff in a tutu would look elegant, and I don't want to look like my older brother." The temp explained truthfully, but digressed, "Anyway, technically I can carry you, b-but all enhancers can lift anything that's above normal weight and probably lift more than me!" Cider responded hesitantly.

The temp belittled herself again, and finally, they arrived at the apartment complex. Walking up the pleat of stairs, she shushed the haughty teen softly, and told of her about her next door neighbor, Leorio. For the last few two days, the doctor in training was busy preparing for an exam made by Casper, who wanted the young man to make up for the months he'll be missing in class. However, this exam was not only a standard paper test, but also a test to see if his nen skills had improved from the jobs he's been assisting in. Hearing that Cider lived beside that goofball made Mika's eyes shot open, she would expect her to live in a well-established apartment, not a average one.

"You're telling me you live here, and that gorilla lives next to you?" She was surprised, and getting a happy nod from the temp, "How can you live in such a dingy place and district!?"

"Oh, it's not that bad Mika." The temp reassured the teen warmly, "This is the only complex that's lenient on the rent, that and the whole district reminds me of home." Cider explained.

'Home...' Mika thought to herself briefly, 'Father never told me much about our _home_'

Out of the blue, the two were welcomed by the sight and sounds of a door opening. Walking out of the apartment 76 was a lovely woman with lavender hair and sea green eyes. Her appearance made the two girls blush lightly, both were mesmerized by her beauty, but one second later, Mika squinted her eyes at her.

"Excuse me, you're in our way." Mika exclaimed haughtily, which made her caretaker stare widely at her.

A quaint giggled escaped the woman's lips, and as she walked down the steps, she gave a playful wink at Cider, who was slightly confused. Then out of the blue, a familiar nineteen year old came out of his apartment, and was struggling to put on his sweater. Once he saw Cider, his eyes shot open, and darted towards the girl.

**'These two are strange.'**

Mika continued to watch the chat in a bored matter, and was not too surprised that Leorio didn't notice her. The man was love-struck for that thirty year old Schadell senior, and she had a feeling that he asked her to tutor her. An attempt to ask the woman out? Yes. Was it successful? It's too early to answer that, and Mika continued watching the duo talk to each other. Something about this setting reminded her too much of a harem comic, but she quickly replaced those cheesy thoughts with something else.

'Ugh...I'm hungry, and all I've been eating is crappy sweets.'

"That reminds me, did you see where Bambi went Cider?" He asked anxiously.

"Mhm, she went down the stairs. Better hurry or you'll miss your chance with Bambi-sama." Cider encouraged him with a small grin.

"Thanks!" He smiled at her and ran down the steps, "Wait a minute Bambi, let me walk you over to the station and buy you a drink!"

He left the two girls at the complex, and Cider smiled towards Mika, whose stomach led out a ferocious growl. The sounds of hunger told the two that it was dinner time, and neither of them wanted to cook. Once Cider welcomed the young lady into her home, she was welcomed by the sight of cleanliness, and a over-sized lucky cat statue standing in the corner of the room.

'What weird taste? Maybe this will annoy my father.' Mika thought with amazement, "How much did you spent on this statue?" She asked and placed her small luggage bag near it.

"About 800 Merty, but if it weren't for Leorio, I would have spent a lot more." Cider clarified, and placed her belongings onto the coffee table, "So what would you like to eat?"

Time for an experiment, if Cider was really different from the temp hunters, than she would follow exactly everything from the book, and refuse her pleas for junk food.

"I want pizza." Mika answered bluntly, 'She'll probably say no, just like every other lapdog for my father.'

"I would say no, but since we're having the same craving, I'll order a large pie." The temp went over to the room's phone, and placed her index finger on her lips, "But this and you staying at my place will be a little secret between us, okay?"

Mika nodded slightly, 'N-no way, did she just do the opposite? What's with this girl, she's so conflicting...'

After getting themselves comfortable, hanging their outfits in the closet's rack, and putting their belongings away neatly, the pizza finally arrived. The two stared at the pie, and both of them gave each other a dirty look.

Cider glared at her, "I won't repeat myself Mika-sama, adding red chili pepper on a pepperoni pizza is better." The teen's blood simmered, and out of nowhere she sprinkled parmesan onto the temp's slice, "Hey, I said chili pepper!"

"Pizza tastes better with more cheese, and again call me Mika." She protested against Cider, who was sprinkling red pepper flakes on her slice, "Hey!"

The two continued with their small yet friendly argument, and finally ate their overly garnished pizza. Two hours later, it was already nine, and Cider was looking out the window, checking if Leorio came back.

"I doubt he's coming back right now." Mika muttered and laid her back beside the statue.

"Yeah, you're right." Cider walked away from the window and laid herself onto her futon, "Are you sure that you want to sleep there? I don't mind sleeping on the ground."

"I like small places, and this statue is giving me good reception." Mika responded and glued her eyes to her laptop screen.

A soft sigh escaped from Cider's lips, and she turned on the television to watch an animated show about a detective whose shooting ghosts with a gun. Then she felt that bizarre feeling in her chest, and she gripped her shirt lightly. Her heart felt like it was being gripped by something, and her cheeks were flushing red. It all started with Mika mentioning about Leorio, and her encounter with him today at the complex, but why is she feeling like this now? This never happened before, well not since that joke that Leorio made about her asking him out to dinner.

"Can I ask you a question?" Mika broke the silence between them.

"Hm?" She snapped out of her trance, "O-of course Mika, ask away."

"You use to work for the higher ups right?"

Cider felt a chill from her spine, "Yes..."

"So why are you working at my father's agency? I mean the pay is almost the same, but these jobs that he assigns you must be boring."

Her expression softened a bit, "Well, to be honest with you, I never did enjoy working for the superiors that I was assigned too. I don't like going into detail, but my last mission was too...unpleasant. If wasn't for your dad, I would be out of a job, and I can't thank him enough."

Mika took her glasses, and wiped away the dust with her paw printed tank top, "Since you're being honest about yourself, I guess I can tell you this..." She hesitated a bit, "I dropped out of Casper's courses!" She shouted loudly, and braced for a scolding from her caretaker.

"Ah, really?" Cider responded, and chuckled a bit, "Heh, I can't blame you, a lot of people drop out of Casper's course. Don't worry, I'm sure your dad would encourage you to do better next semester."

'She's so nice...' Mika thought to herself, "Y-yeah, he'll just tell me that...Gagh! I'm tired, I'm gonna go to sleep!" She switched the topic abruptly and closed her laptop shut.

Noticing it was the time on her phone, Cider bid goodnight to Mika, and turned off most of the lights. One light was still on, and it was the glow from Mika's laptop, indicating that she was still wide awake. Even though she said that she was tired, it was a blatant lie, and she really wanted the conversation to continue. A few hours had passed, and Cider was fast asleep while Mika was still wide awake. The sounds of the rain, and yesterday's memories that was on constant replay was keeping her awake. Eating a cold slice of pizza, Mika stared heavily at an image on her laptop screen, and it was a photo of her parents. She then compared her parents' photo with the family photograph on Cider's coffee table.

'If you were alive, would my life be just like hers?' Her lips crinkled into a frown, and laid herself comfortably, 'I wish I could to talk her more like this, but I guess tomorrow will be the same like every day of my life...' She drifted off to sleep.

* * *

_I miss you..._


	8. Rain

Here's another chapter that I hope you guys will enjoy, and please leave a review. Lots of stuff happens in this one, and we're almost leading to the Yorknew Arc. How exciting!

Notes: Thanks for the reviews, favs, and such, they are greatly appreciated~

**Note: This chapter was formally split into two parts, but it's now a single chapter.**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Hunter x Hunter, references, the images used for the cover, or songs used in this story.

Songs: -Title of the chapter (also references for this chapter and the previous one): Rain by Senri Oe (Song is also used in the animated movie, Garden of Words, but it was covered by Hata Motohiro. Both versions and others covers are great, but I slightly like Senri's version more because of the beat. There's also a music video of Senri's version, check it out!)

-Bar Music 2/Casper's theme: Tomorrow by FreeTEMPO

-Cider's cell phone jingle: Just Awake by Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas

-The moment where a conflicted Cider awkwardly gets into a fight with someone (hint: fruit): Faint from the Devil May Cry Anime OST

-This conflicting dance starts: Kijutsushi no Baire from Hunter x Hunter the OST

-No more hesitating, I'll show you my moves: Don't let me be misunderstood by Santa Esmerelda

-"Pietre...": Memories of Hal from Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty OST

* * *

"So what will it be suits?"

"Surprise me."

"You got it suits."

As he waited for the muscular bartender to set up his drink, Leorio sulked by the fact that his senior declined the offer of having a drink with him. Ever since he noticed Bambi on the first day of college, he was struck by cupid, and when he had a chance, he tried to talk her. Though most of attempts failed, he was finally successful at getting her to tutor him for a subject for chemistry. To him, that was one step closer into getting that 'lavender angel' to go out with him, but of course he was politely rejected. 'I'll try harder next time' he told himself with a wide smile, and noticed a small glass was slid to him. The drink's clear fizzy appearance was simple, yet the lemon wedge hanging onto the rim of the glass can grab anyone's eye. Before he took a sip of his drink, the barkeep slid two other things to the young man, which was a glass of water and a small bowl of mixed nuts.

"Oi, I didn't order this..." Leorio replied briefly.

"On the house suits," The barkeep muttered, "Best to have something salty to go with that drink, and water to quench your thirst."

"Thanks," The doctor in training tipped his glass to the barkeep, and took a sip of the drink, 'Whoa...'

The sharp tartness yet piney flavor of the gin which combined with the sourness of the lemon juice and sweetness of the sugar almost caught Leorio off guard. To balance off the taste, Leorio grabbed a few hazelnuts and macadamia nuts from the bowl, and popped it in his mouth. The saltiness from the nuts balanced out the flavors from the drink, and realizing he was getting a bit thirsty, Leorio took a few sips from the glass of water. The cold liquid soothed his body, and left the spectacled man surprised; this bar was impressive, but it was a shame that he had no one to drink with.

'I gotta say my thanks to Cider.' He thought to himself.

When he remembered the temp, he recollected on what happened to them a few days ago at that godforsaken Electronica store.

_"The reason why I was so upset today was because..."_

During the time of when they were heading off to the Golden Pot to get revenge on Mika, Cider came clean to him on why she was depressed. She told him that the recently passed temp hunter was an old acquaintance of hers. Ikaros was his name, and before she was stationed to Waldhalle, Cider use to work with him along with other temps. When she told him a little more about herself, Leorio handed her a weighted question and asked, "Where were you stationed?". At first she was reluctant on answering his question, but in the end, she gave him an honest look and answered, "I was stationed at Yorknew".

The word, Yorknew, echoed in his mind, 'What is so special in that city other besides that auction...Was she homesick? No, that can't be it, she doesn't look too happy of mentioning it.' He thought to himself and remembered her being jittery at the time he went to her apartment the first time, 'Seeing that she's opening up, maybe I can make her finally spill the beans.'

Taking a few sips of his drink, he gazed heavily at his cell phone, and wondered if Cider was doing alright with taking care of Mika. Despite that he wasn't too fond of the rich girl's cattiness towards him, Cider, and a good number of people, something about her reminded him of his close friends, particularly a white haired twelve year old. A nervous laughter erupted from his lips and imagined a cross combination of the girl and the boy, 'Dear god that's horrifying'. Despite the rudeness, the girl was growing on to him, and Cider doesn't seem to mind of being a babysitter.

'She did say she was the only daughter in her family.' He dialed Cider's number, and was welcomed by a metalcore jingly in the bar. The bar owner's ears perked from the digital tune, and headed over to the shelves. Aside from the huge number of bottled spirits, there was a glossy yellow cell phone, and the bar keep handed it toward Leorio.

"You don't seem the type to have two phones..." The barkeep jokingly with a grin, "Or have a huge love for rice bowls." He joked again and showed Leorio the phone's wallpaper; an animated picture of an eel rice bowl.

"That's not my phone, a friend of mine must have left it here." Leorio explained as he took a last few sips of his cocktail, 'She does have a weird obsession for rice bowls though...And weird taste in music too.'

The bar owner shook his head and said, "Nah she didn't leave it, some weirdo with makeup brought that over here a while ago, and told me it came from an earlier customer of mine. Must be the fine one in the black dress..." He drifted off and remembered his earlier patrons.

Leorio nodded with a sly smile, "A fine lady in black huh? She sounds sexy." As he took another sip from his water, and realized who the barkeep was talking about. This made him spat out his drink, "W-wait were you talking about Cider?!"

The barkeep arched his eyebrow, "Oh is that her name?" He asked, and a grin was plastered on his face, "Well anyway, you should bring that phone back to her, and don't worry pal, I'm sure you'll get _extra points_ for bringing it over to her at her place. I wish you luck on your pursuit, suits." The barkeep gave a wink to the man, and headed over to another batch of customers.

As the burly barkeep walked away from him, Leorio squinted his eyes, and was a bit fazed by the man's comments about her. Awkward bumbling Cider, sexy? 'No, way' the doctor in training asserted, and was trying to get over the fact that the burly man blessed him for a romantic pursuit that would never happen. Even though he pushed some of those thoughts away, a few of them remained in his mind, and he grumbled to himself.

'Now that I think about it, she looked quite nice in that outfit today...' Before he drifted off into the messier parts of his brain, he snapped himself out it, 'Stop! What on earth are you doing?! Cider is your senior, and you're her medical assistant, that'll be too...' He felt something dripping from his nose, and a handkerchief out of nowhere pinched his nose. "H-hey knock it off or I'll-"

"Or what Paladinight, bleed to death?" A familiar tone asked heartily, and gave a huge laugh.

Noticing that it was professor Casper pinching his nose like a twelve year old, Leorio retracted back his threat and apologized for his abrupt behavior. At first he would blame the cocktail for making him all fussy, but he knew the liquid wasn't the cause of his small outburst and his nosebleed. Pinching his nose, Leorio watched his professor drink a cup of whiskey, who then led out a satisfied sigh.

"So professor Casper, what brings you here?" Leorio asked curiously.

Casper placed down his cup and gave him a cold stern look, "I'm checking to see if your studying for that exam, **Paladinight**." He answered ghastly, and made his student shiver in fright, but was later reassured by his professor's loud laugh, "Hahaha I'm just joshing with ya! What? A doctor can't have a descent drink once in a blue moon?"

"N-no, but don't you have a meeting at the Hunter Association building?" He looked at his professor concernedly.

"That's the reason why I came here, have a drink before the day I die from boredom." Casper explained, "Tomorrow's meeting is just a review on past recruits, the current state of the association, what Netero is doing, and who will be earning their star." He glanced at his empty glass, and beckoned the barkeep to pour him another glass. He gulped down his drink, and sighed heavily, "To be honest with you Paladinight, I rather be grading papers or visit my patients, especially a certain crone who would rather read books to children instead of getting a check up."

"That sounds rough professor," Leorio replied lightly, and stashed Cider's cell phone away in his jean's pocket.

"Please, call me Casper or Ski," The fifty year old took a gulp from his second glass of whiskey, "At school or the hospital, you can call me professor or doctor, but off duty, just call me by my first or last name without the honorifics." Casper continued, and led out another laugh, "Heh, I see that Cider's politeness is rubbing on you, but then again, your mannerisms is rubbing on her too."

"I guess..." Leorio responded and gazed at his glass of water, that was leaving wet marks on the bar's surface, "Does she always act...You know all too polite, too nice, and too...bizarre?"

"'Fraid so." Casper answered with a light smile, "Then again, hunters like me, you, and Cider act differently to the world and people around us. However, deep down we share a lot of things in common; we get angry for certain things and people, we hide things from others, we do things that others might not approve, we hold back our grief from others, and lastly, we help others who have those symptoms stated earlier, whether they like it or not. So in truth Paladinight, no hunter is truly bizarre, but you can take this like Autumns' sermons like a piece of shit and toss it away."

Leorio chuckled at his professor's last statement about Autumns, and secretly stowed away his sermon in his mind. After absorbing in that lecture, the rookie beckoned the barkeep, and asked for another cocktail. The burly man nodded, and once he slid the nineteen year old another lemony drink, Leorio glanced at his professor, and raised his drink to him. Even though he wasn't having a grand time with his crush, having a nice drink with the fifty year old doctor was good enough, and mind as well have a toast.

Casper snorted at his pupil, "Heh, aren't you a bit young to drink these things? You may look twice your age, but I know that you're a year younger than Cider." He remarked with a smirk.

"Ages for drinking varies from different continents Casper, and please spare me a sermon about my appearance." Leorio gave him a smug grin, and raised his glass, "Autumns and his daughter are already giving me beef for how I look. Pretty sure he's bald though..." He joked smugly.

"Heh, I told him that toupee of his can't fool anyone." The fifty year old agreed, and reminisced his younger days, "Even his daughter is disgusted by it."

A small chuckle escaped the old man's lips, he wasn't expecting to have a drink with one of his students, but this was a nice change of pace. The wrinkly doctor had a rough day with his bibliomaniac patient, who to this day still made his heart flutter. Refraining himself from looking back at his younger days and the times that his patient danced gracefully, Casper raised his glass to his student. As the glasses clanked together, the two drank their drinks, and both sighed refreshingly.

"Let tomorrow be less shitty than today."

"Amen teach."

* * *

In the wee hours of morning, Cider fluttered her eyes open, and sat herself from her futon. The lack of her alarm ringing told her that she had stupidly left her cell phone at the bar, however, Cider felt that it was too early for her to berate herself. She groggily turned to the lucky cat statue; only to find that there was no sign of Mika or her luggage. Seeing this made her heart tremble in fear, and she began to look around to see if there was a break in or a ransom note. Before she gave herself a heart attack, Cider noticed something on her kitchen table: a saran wrapped plate of food, an unused cook book of Baotai City cuisine, and on the book was a note from the missing girl.

_**Went back to the hotel to meet up with father, don't worry I know the way there, and that glasses gorilla saw me off. Thank you for letting me stay at your place, it was nice...**_

_**P.S. If you're planning to use this cook book, you really need to stock up on high quality food in your fridge! Honestly, how on earth are you living with all that crap in your fridge?**_

Cider chuckled at the note, the girl maybe a bit rough in the edges, but she does show her sweetness in rare occasions. Placing the note down, she began her one hour morning routine, and once she was done applying her makeup, the temp stared at her reflection. She gave an awkward smile to herself, and because of failed attempt to cheer herself up scared her, Cider darted out of the bathroom. Preparing some coffee, she sat herself at the tablet and glanced at the food that Mika had cooked for her. It was a simple dish; two sunny side up eggs and grilled tomatoes, and one of the yolks from the eggs was broken. Despite the small mistake, Cider who had always broke her egg yolks, admired the young girl's skill, and how the plate was presented.

'I wonder if this is her hobby?' She thought, and popped one of the grilled tomatoes in her mouth.

As she enjoyed her lukewarm breakfast, someone knocked at her door, and it was none other than her neighbor, Leorio. Opening the door, she greeted her junior, who dragged himself over to the futon, and slumped himself onto the soft cushions. He mumbled out a painful groan, and slowly sat himself to see that his senior was putting her dish away in the sink. Yesterday's simple visit from the bar turned into a small drinking frenzy with his professor, and he unfortunately had a bit too much to drink. Trying to recover from the slight throbbing sensation from his head, he was then welcomed by the smell of freshly brewed java.

She smiled sheepishly at him, and handed him a cup of coffee. "F-fun night?" Cider asked awkwardly.

"Yeah, but it's not the type of night I was expecting." Leorio took a sip, and cringed at the bitter taste, "By the way, you left this."

Taking another sip from his coffee, he tossed Cider her phone back to her. Once the phone landed onto her palms, she was welcomed by the sight of 2 missing calls, and 3 text messages from yesterday night. The two calls are from boss, and her ballet classmates, while the messages are from another ballet classmate, Pez.

"Oh, a text from Pez." She said with a smile, and read it silently, "Ah, I see."

Pez's message was a friendly reminder to Cider that she still had three tickets to the ballet recital in Yorknew. A saddened expression appeared on her face and remembered none of her family members could attend, 'Mom is too busy at the inn, while Tsing-san and Sy-san can't make it to the recital in time. So, what am I going to do with these three tickets?'

As she looked at her phone's screen, she noticed an app that she had never downloaded, and the icon was a joker card from a standard 52 card deck. When Cider tapped on the icon, it crashed and transported her back to her home screen.

"Something wrong?" Leorio asked curiously.

"Ah, nothing. I have this app on my phone that I accidentally downloaded, I think it's a poker game." She explained and tried deleting it, 'Kinda weird though, since I suck at poker...' She thought to herself, and noticed the app would not uninstall.

After the fifth attempt, Cider accepted defeat and was welcomed by the sound of her ringtone, which almost made her jump. That was not her ordinary ringtone, and while it was a catchy song, she believed it was too loud for a standard phone jingle. Then she realized something shocking, 'Did I set that song up as my ringtone?' She questioned herself, and assumed that she did without knowing it.

She answered her phone politely, "Hello? Ah, good morning Autumns-sama...I see...What happened sir?"

The conversation continued, and Leorio took notice of her concerned expression. Something must have happened at the agency, but he wondered what could it possibly be. He believed it had something to do with a busted copy machine or another package delivery gone awry for one of the temps. Then again, when he was approved by Casper, he warned him to not take the temp jobs too lightly, but the doctor in training thought it was just a standard lecture about the standard and practices of the temp work. In the end, Leorio retracted a little bit of his conclusion, and listened to the remaining conversation.

"Understood, but can we discuss about the payment requirements later? Thank you Autumns-sama, and have a good day." She hung up, and awkwardly smile at her junior, "Ready to go?"

'Is it that hard for her to smile?' He inquired to himself, and placed the coffee mug in the sink, "Yeah, but what did Autumns say on the phone?"

"Besides of taking care of Mika, we have another job, but..." She drifted off, and her smile scrunched up more crudely, "I told Autumns that you have to study for Casper's exam, so you'll only be doing half of the work, and will be dismissed for the remainder of today."

"WHAT!? THAT MEANS I ONLY GET PAID HALF THEN AND YOU'LL GET PAID IN FULL!"

"I'm sorry! I'll make it up to you I swear!" She promised him with reassuring smile, "Besides Casper's exams are more important than this job, and passing that exam will bring you one step closer to your dream! But if you're still mad, I'm really sor-"

"Yeah yeah," He cut her off from apologizing profusely, "Quit blubbering, and let's go already." He scoffed, and the two headed off to the train station.

* * *

Arriving at Waldhalle's Hunter Association building, the two were welcomed by Mika, who had a messenger bag, and a folder signed for Cider. Despite her wearing an outfit that consisted of a mouse eared hoodie and cheese patterned tights, she was not in a good mood, which felt completely off. Usually she had a sour look on her face, but today it was a whole 'nother level, and it made the two temporary caretakers slightly concerned.

"Good morning Mika, how are you today?" Cider muttered out nervously.

"I'm alright...but-" The young girl answered slowly, and quickly switched the topic, "You shouldn't waste time with idle chatter, c'mon, let's go to the Mystiker Library or I'll report you to my father." Mika responded, and guided the two over to the train station.

So it was true, Mika was in a bad mood today, and as she walked off to get soda from the machine, the two waited for their train to arrive. While sitting on the benches, Leorio could feel that awkward barrier forming between them, however, the wall was broken by Cider. This was weird to the rookie, usually it's him trying to make a conversation and prevent Cider from sealing herself in an invisible bubble, but now she's talking.

"She's not in good mood today, I wonder what's troubling her?" Cider said lightly, and he could see that she was concerned about the boss' daughter.

"Beats me, but it must be something to do with her dad." He stated, and noticed that Cider was on her phone again, "So, what did your pal Pez text you? Got yourself a crush from one of your classmates?"

"Oh no no, she just wanted to remind me that I have three tickets for the recital." She answered with a softened expression.

"Is your brothers and your mom going?" He asked curiously, and got a head shake from her, "Well, that sucks."

"Well, there's always next time." She responded optimistically, "Since I don't want to disappoint them with my skills, it's probably best that they don't see it."

After she gave a self-defeating answer, the two remained quiet, and were suddenly welcomed by the sight of Mika, who had three cans of soda. When she offered the two drinks, both declined the offer, but Mika insisted that they should drink something carbonated. She handed them two ruby red cans, but both were reluctant of opening them.

"Oi Cider, my other suits are at the dry cleaners, if I ruin this suit, I have to do Casper's exam tomorrow butt naked." He whispered concernedly.

"R-relax, I'll open it first." She reassured her partner quietly, "Then again, you doing your exam in your underwear would make us even, since you wrote what 'that' in the report..."

"Aw, c'mon! You're still mad about that! Argh fine, let's bust these cans open together." Leorio snapped, and both popped opened their cans, "H-hey, what do you know? No surprises!" He shouted in relief, and once the liquid touched their lips, both gave out a gag, "Bleh, it's bitter! W-what is this?!"

"Vegetable RED soda?" Cider explained, and tried to overcome the bitter tasting drink, "It's healthy, so mind as well drink it for today's hectic schedule."

As the two drank their sodas together, Mika glanced at the two quietly, and stared at her cell phone. Earlier today, the seventeen year old and her father visited the dean's office at Schadel University, and it wasn't a happy meeting. When her father heard word of her dropping her classes, he brought his daughter with him and gave a stern talk to the dean, who refused to pull any strings to make up for his daughter's actions. In the end, Autumns accepted defeat, and told his beloved daughter that she could try again next semester. However, deep down she did not want to attend to Casper's medical classes anymore, but something restrained her from telling the truth to her dad.

'Why did he have to meet the dean?' Mika sulked, and was suddenly disturbed by a familiar voice.

"Hey Mika, are you coming or not?" Leorio asked the girl, who gave him a dirty look.

"Yeah yeah, hold your bananas gorilla."

Not wanting to get into an unnecessary confrontation, Leorio just rolled his eyes and went inside the train. Mika followed him as well, and noticed that he sat himself next to Cider, who was still had her eyes glued to the cell phone. Without her realizing it, the train began to move, which caused her to fumbled face first toward the seats where the two sat. Trying to remain composed, Mika hid her pained expression, and sat herself beside Cider, who looked bit worried.

She smiled awkwardly, "A-are you alright Mika? That was a bit of a fall."

"I'm okay," Mika huffed out nonchalantly, "Uhm, what are you playing on your phone?" She touched the phone screen, 'This is app, it's different.'

"It's a poker game, but I can't seem to open it." Cider explained, "I think the app is under maintenance though..."

"If it works, tell me if it's a fun game or not." The Blondie told her lightly, "We're here now, hopefully this trip to the library isn't as bad as what my father told me." She aid and noticed Cider was struggling to keep a smile on her face, "Aw, c'mon, it can't be that bad."

Unfortunately it was bad, but it wasn't as terrible like the last two visits from the library. When the three arrived at Mystiker Library, they were welcomed by the pleasant owner and keeper, Clara Fouette. While Cider went with the librarian to the cellar, Leorio was told to watch over Mika, who was a bit mesmerized by the atmosphere. The area looked like something straight from a fairy tale, and some of the books on the shelves caught the young girl's attention.

"Found something nice to read?" Leorio inquired to brighten the girl's mood, and took out his phone to check if he had any messages from his friends.

"No, they're just books about food, nothing interesting." She answered and exchanged her fascinated expression with her boring one.

"There's no need to lie kiddo," He protested, "Since we're told to wait, how about we read some books?"

"I guess," Mika said, and gingerly grabbed one of the cook books off the shelf.

The two kept themselves occupied by reading some of the books on the shelves, and from time to time, Leorio monitored the teenager's actions. Though she looked like she was reading a book about automobiles, he knew that she was secretly reading a book about cooking. These type of antics were something that a kid would do, but then again, her outfits and mannerisms were childish as well.

"You know, you don't have to hide what your reading." Leorio stated kindly, "Cider and me aren't going to judge you or we won't say anything to your old man."

Mika squinted her eyes, and slowly unveiled the cook book, "Okay...but if you say anything, I'll cause you two more trouble." She threatened half-heartedly.

An hour passed, and the two resorted to building a fort of books to keep themselves busy. Another antic that was childish, but strangely, Leorio felt like he was playing with a sibling that he never had. When they noticed the cellar door opening, the two teens placed the books away, and were welcomed by the sight of a certain blue haired temp popping out of the hole. There they noticed Cider's somber expression, indicating she was not too happy of what she got in the cellar. In the temp's hands was a torn up book which it's corners were plated with golden metal and encrusted with gems; emeralds and a giant ruby that needed polishing.

That grim expression felt off to Leorio, who has grown accustomed to seeing Cider's usual awkward self. Before he could say anything to her, a screeching noise emitting from her back, which made his eyes bulge out in horror. The color in Cider's face turned white, and she looked down to see what was crawling on her pants leg. A baby ratroach was clawing itself towards her, which made her jump into Leorio's arms. Gaining back his footing, Leorio lowered his gaze, and saw that Cider was still gripping onto him. A warm sensation formed on his cheeks, but he hid his bashfulness away from Mika, who saw the bug scurrying toward her.

Mika squashed the bug with her foot and looked at the two, "Didn't you two cleaned that library twice already? From what I've read on the internet, ratroaches only come out when they smell something rotting-" She kept her mouth shut, and turned around, "I'll leave you two alone for a bit..."

Leorio looked down at Cider's head, who was inches away from his chest, 'That reaction was kinda cute.' He thought, and took notice that she was in his arms for a while, "Oi Cider, the ratroach is gone!"

Realizing what she done, she quickly moved her away from Leorio, and apologized, "Ah, I'm sorry, I should be use to these ratroaches, but they still get the best of me..." She explained sheepishly, and heard his giggling, "H-hey don't laugh!"

"Haha, sorry," He replied with a grin, and grabbed the jeweled book off the floor, "So, this is the book that you have to complete for the client, this should be easy."

"I wish it was, but it's not." Cider protested, "Because the author is from Meteor City, there's no record of their background or a bibliography of their works."

For a brief moment, Leorio stared at the book's intricate designs and weird lettering. The giant ruby almost looked like an eye of sorts, and with a little polishing, the gem would be worth a lot of money. Then again, who on earth would want a book that smelt sour, and had half of its contents ripped in half. Bidding farewell to Clara, who has caught Mika's attention, the three retreated back to the town, and were welcomed by a taxi. Droplets water fell onto the pavement, and it began to rain.

Cider bowed abruptly to the two teenagers, "Well, this is where we'll depart for today." She declared nervously, "As soon as I'm done with this job, I'll pick you up from the apartments Mika, but in the mean time you can help Leorio prepare for his exam." Cider told the young lady, who was paying attention to her phone, "A-alright then! See you later you two."

"Alright, I'll take care of the missy, and call me if you need any medical advice." He said, and noticed that the droplets in her blue hair, "You might need to get an umbrella or you'll catch a cold before the big trip." He told her concernedly.

She looked at his eyes for while, "I don't mind getting caught in the downpour...Good luck on your studies Leorio. " She told him warmly, and walked off to the shopping district.

As the taxi drove off to Sparsam, Leorio watched Cider's figure disappear into the crowded horizon. He sat himself back onto the cushy car seat, and turned to Mika, who was busy looking at something on her phone.

"Huh? What do you mean _no app exists_!" She shouted to herself, and insulted her pricey phone.

* * *

Hours had passed, and while the rainy skies were pitch black, the town was illuminated by lantern posts and light filled buildings. Holding an umbrella, Cider was sitting by herself on a rooftop, and gazed at the passing civilians below her. She was waiting for someone; another temp hunter from the agency, who was the shortest of his male co-workers. She gazed at her phone again, looking at the app that would not uninstall, which suddenly began to load. Hearing footsteps from behind her, she stashed away her cell phone, and greeted her co-worker, who held onto a metal briefcase.

From looking at his trembling legs, it was safe to say that the temp was nervous about this job, but who wouldn't be? Of all the jobs that Cider took in Waldhalle, this one was slightly more dangerous for a standard temp to complete, and Cider hoped that her boss took the advice of not assigning any more temps for this job. Unfortunately he didn't, but he did choose a higher up to help with the job.

The petite man darted his head left and right, praying that this job would be a simple retrieval. Even though he was Cider's superior, something about his frantic movements says that he only got the promotion just because he was sleeping with a manager aside from Autumns.

Cider noticed the man's shivers, and shielded him from the rain with her umbrella, "How are you today Hiroko?" Cider asked in hopes of easing the temp's jitters.

The temp swiped the umbrella from his junior's hand, "I'm fine Meiming! But how long do we have to wait?" He answered anxiously.

"In a few minutes, Shiao's men said they're heading up to this building now." She explained, "But, if anything bad happens, we run away okay?"

"R-right." Hiroko agreed, and went back to looking around, "When did we start doing work with the mafia? Usually the higher ups in Sahelta does these sort of jobs."

"I don't know either, but it must have to do with the big auction in Yorknew." Cider replied, and refrained from answering more, 'I've said too much...'

The petite temp took notice of his partner's conflicted face, "Hey, don't give that look, you're making me nervous. What's this about an auction!?"

Feeling sick to her stomach, she struggled to keep herself from spilling the beans, but she couldn't bring herself to not answer her superior's question. Staying silent, the petite temp groaned at her defiance, and went back to looking around. Another twenty minutes passed, and finally someone arrived with their package. Two men in black suits slunk out of the shadows, and the two temps walked over to them. They exchanged looks to one another, and both sides were waiting for one of them to break the silence.

Cider spoke up, "For exchange of the book, the client offers you this." She explained, and beckoned her senior to hand over the case.

Hiroko gulped, and slowly handed one of the mafia men the briefcase. Once the brief case was given to the men, the tanned one opened the briefcase to take a peak of the contents. A smirk formed on his lips, indicating that the trade-off was successful, and a relieved sigh escaped the senior temp's lips. Without saying anything, the tanned man shoved Hiroko a stack of papers, which gave him a few paper cuts on his palm. Returning to Cider, both parties nodded farewell to each other, but one took notice of girl.

"Have we met before?" The tanned man's buddy asked as he lowered his sunglasses, who felt like he had saw her before, but with dark brown hair.

She shook her head, "No, I don't think we have met before." She noticed it was raining harder, "It's best that you two go somewhere dry now or you two will catch a cold." She changed the subject calmly, and the two suited men disappeared into the shadows.

Once the two mafia men left the scene, Hiroko led out a sigh of relief, and stashed away the torn book into his coat. Reporting to the agency that the job was successful, Cider heard a bizarre jingle from her phone, and it was a notification from the weird app.

**Duck and you should check on your partner *-_-;**

She looked at the phone's message confusingly, but was then welcomed by a sudden change in the atmosphere. This sensation, it was like yesterday outside the bar, but it was stronger than before. The feeling in the air was terrifying, it felt like someone wanted to kill her, and had a lust for bloodshed. Before she buckled from the fear, a familiar voice screamed in her mind, which felt like ages that she heard those words.

_"CIDER! CIDER! Pull yourself together!"_

In a split second, she jumped over to the opposite side of the roof, and noticed a play card was pierced into the area that she was standing on. Staying low, she looked at her surroundings, and noticed that her senior was lying on the ground, unconscious. Her lips quivered, and she slowly crawled over to the her fallen comrade. Knowing that the unseen threat is lurking somewhere, she sealed her aura away to keep herself from being detected. This was overwhelming for her, because it felt too much like her days at the Yorknew Temp Agency.

She made it over to the unconscious Hiroko, and rolled him over to see if he was still breathing. The brown haired man's chest was moving, and relieved sigh escaped Cider's lips. However, her relief was short-lived, and someone crept over to her from the darkness. Cider dragged her senior's body to edge of the rooftop, and saw that there was a dumpster below them. Knowing both the book and her senior were valuable, she made her decision.

"Ugh, my head." The petite temp mumbled and realized he was on the edge of the rooftop, "M-Meiming what are you doing?!"

She smiled at him kindly, "Just saying seeing you off," She pushed him off the rooftop, and watched him land into the dumpster, "Whatever happens, bring the book to the agency!" She shouted at him.

"R-right!" The petite man nodded, and checked to see if he had the book, "I DON'T HAVE THE BOOK! THAT CLOWN MUST HAVE GOT IT FROM ME!"

'Clown?' She thought to herself, and heard someone walking closer to her, "W-who's there!?"

Once she turned around, Cider found herself looking at her opponent, who was rather...questionable. A six feet and one inch man with vibrant fuchsia hair, pale skin, and wore face paint. His eyes were an eerie shade of yellow, and all he had was a sly smile. While his makeup and flawless skin was impressive, the man's overall appearance left the young woman conflicted, was she suppose to be scared and awed by his appearance simultaneously? She snapped out of her thoughts, and remembered the things that showed up on her phone. The app, the ringtone, and the notification with a clown emoji, was this the man's doing and if so, what was he trying to pull?

Out of nowhere, the man slowly raised his arm up, which made Cider get into a fighting stance. As he raised his arm to the air, the rooftop's light revealed to the temp that he has half of the book, and he still had his sly smile glued onto his face.

"Hmph Hmph~" He chuckled gently.

Sweat beads began to form on Cider's forehead, this job was turning ugly for her...

* * *

_"So, this is the book that you have to complete for the client, this should be easy."_

_"I wish it was, but it's not."_

'Why did I have to jinx myself?' Cider asked herself, and recollected on the things that recently happened, 'At least the pages will be returned, but now I have to deal with this guy...'

The rain continued to pour, and two barely budged from their positions, not averting their eyes from each other's gazes. It was standoff, but one wasn't too sure of pulling the trigger against the other. Two possible scenarios formulated in the temp's mind, and she was trying to figure out a simple solution to solve this confrontation. This man was no doubt a threat, and fighting him would not be an easy cake walk.

'The job was to give the gang the client's money for the pages and we were guaranteed that there will be no confrontation as long we don't engage them. Even if I fought him in self defense, that would still break the contract...but is he really working with that group?' She thought heavily, and heard another cooing chuckle from the jester, which startled her a bit.

"Hmph hmph~ Don't tell me your shying away from me now." The man cooed with a smile, "I wanted to see you dance some more."

Her eyes widened from the shocking response, 'How does he know that I-' Then the answer popped into her brain, 'He was the one I bumped into outside the bar...' She opened her mouth, "Are you the one who put those things on my phone?" She said and quickly covered her mouth.

"Bingo~" He answered cheerfully, and she asked him another question.

"Are you one of Shiao's men?" She told him calmly, "If so, please return to your fellow comrades, so we can avoid committing anymore violations within our deal." Cider explained to him, but only another giggle escaped his lips.

"Following by the book? That's no fun..." He muttered, and his smile still remained, "Good thing that I'm not tied to anyone..."

He declared that was he not part of the mafia, but that didn't justify his reason of injuring her senior and egging her to entertain him. This whole situation made her feel queasy, and it wasn't the air surrounding the fairly toned man. Though his aura was a huge red flag for the temp, her nerves was getting the best of her, and every muscle in her body were giving her mix signals. The majority of nerves and muscles told her to defend herself, but a few were telling her to suppress the urge.

The rain shower slowly halted, and they remained in their positions. As a single droplet dripped from Cider's bangs, the bead kissed the wet surface, and made a sound. In a split second, the fuchsia haired jester threw another card at her, and she barely jumped away from the deadly attack. Landing on the tip of her feet, she twirled her body to him, who was a few meters away from her. Her heart began to race, and then she winced from pain darting from her left leg. Lowering her gaze, she saw that there was a good sized cut across her lower leg. Then she looked up to jester, who in his hand was a play card covered in blood. Simply licking away the crimson fluid off his weapon made her cringe a bit, but something else caught her attention. In his other hand was part of the client's book, and once he caught the attention of the temp, he simply stashed them away in his shirt.

Cider averted her eyes from looking a-t his body, which made him smile seductively, "No need to be shy, you can have a peak~" He cooed out and received a slight glare from her, but his smile still remained. "If you have this dance with me and win, you'll get back these pages back, but if you lose...You have to assist me temporarily."

'Temporarily? Does he mean do work unapproved and unsupervised by the association?'

Cider wanted to say no to the jester's deal, but those book pages are dangerous and in order for them to be exorcised, they have to be together with the half of the book. Not only that, if she backs down, what are the chances that this guy would kill her now and then hunt down her senior for those other pages. There was only one option to solve this problem, and she's not sure if she'll win this match. Giving a slow nod, the clown was now a few inches away from her face, and she felt his breath near her ear.

"Let's begin...Cider." He whispered faintly in her ear, and it broke her concentration.

Threatened by his speed, Cider jumped away from him and was then welcomed by a barrage of play cards. Though she attempted to dodge his assault, most of the cards slashed her clothing and replaced her bare skin with more cuts. Though she didn't show it, the temp was a bit mad at the fact that he ruined one of her good suits, but she was relieved that she didn't wear a skirt today. Seeing that the jester was coming towards her to finish her, she was struck by a swift yet powerful punch in the solar plexus. Like his cards, his punches were enhanced by his nen which felt like someone tried to rearrange her stomach with her liver. Struggling to withstand the pain, she saw a sinister smile across his face, showing that he's enjoying every second of this one-sided jig.

"So lovely, but I know you can feel more than that..." He declared, and she suddenly felt something tugging her toward him. "C'mon, let's do it again."

Out of nowhere she felt a strong tug on her chest, and although she tried to back away from the sadistic clown, something was pulling her closer to him. It's plausible that this strange force was from his nen punch earlier, and the pull was getting stronger by the second. Focusing some of her energy into her eyes, Cider noticed something pink attached to her chest and it almost looked like a wad of taffy.

'This stuff feels and looks like bubblegum...Wait, maybe that's his ability!' She thought, 'Sticky gum nen...that's clever, but I shouldn't be praising him...'

As things were turning grim for Cider, a small yet convinced smile formed on her lips. The temp was not only impressed by his skills, but also strangely guilty of this sparring match. While he was putting a show for her, all she's doing is just dodging him like a scared animal. Granted, it's not always the best to humor opponents, but for this moment, Cider decided to bend the rules.

She readied herself for him, 'Since you gave me a show, please allow me to return you the favor to make things even. Bubble bubble fizz...'

"Hm?" The man noticed something forming on her fingers, 'How wonderful...'

Gazing at his opponent, the blue haired woman pointed out two of her fingers to him, which made his yellow eyes broadened with excitement. Once he saw the translucent pool of nen forming around her fingers, a warm sensation engulfed his whole body, and he out a pleasured moan. This is what he desired; seeing his opponents in pain and being engulfed in their own power.

'How lovely...This feeling...I'm swimming in it.' He thought to himself, and led out another moan, "Ahhh~"

Hearing his moans told the blue haired girl that this guy was enjoying this a little too much. Remaining calm from the creepy atmosphere and the pain from her injuries, Cider breathed in the moist air, and a translucent orb began took shape on the tips of her fingers. Placing her fingers at her chest, the bubble popped, and a good portion of her blazer and blouse was blasted into shreds. Though a part of her torso was exposed, she was free from his sticky clutches, and once she gained back her footing, her dance finally began.

He watched as the woman moved along to the tapping of her shoes, "That's what I want~ More...More...Show me more." He moaned out in pleasure, and joined in.

The two were now synchronized, and as their feet touched the concrete, they either attacked, dodged, or blocked each other. Though Cider didn't show it, the feeling of fighting someone and moving to an unheard beat was strangely exciting. While it was a dangerous match, she couldn't help but show her emotions at her opponent. Just like her ballet rehearsals, this 'pas de deux' was intense for her, and somewhere deep in her heart she was amazed by this feeling.

As for the clown, the enhanced rhythmic movements and reflexes from the temp entranced him. Without her knowing it, he was satisfied that she took his bait, and despite the fact that she was inadequate for his tastes, seeing the way she fought was enough to convince him that she could be of good use to him. He watched as she took a deep breath, and he then saw a thin layer of translucent nen forming on her palms.

'Bubbles?' He said to himself, and hopped backwards from her assault, 'Such a fragile attack...' He thought, and noticed that she leaped toward him, but instead of trying to shoot him, she gently placed her palms on his chest. Kicking her away from him, he lowered his gaze and noticed something sticking to him, which looked like a cross between soap suds and soda fizz, "Bubble play?" He said astonished by the touch and a sinister smile formed on his face, this was getting exciting.

A single bubble formed on her two fingers, "Bubble bubble fizz...SNAP! CRACKLE! AND POP!" She shot her bubble off her fingers and the brunt of the force pushed her hard onto the ground.

As the temp landed onto the wet ground, the bubble flew towards it's target, and once it touched the sudsy bubbles, they began to to fizz. The fizz like substance cracked, and once the multiple loud popping sounds stopped, it began to rain. However, it was not raindrops, just pieces of paper that made her heart race faster than usual. She gawked at pieces of paper that were landing into the puddles, and led out a horrified scream. Half of the client's book was nothing but confetti, and when the realization struck her, she clasped her head in panic.

'Shoot shoot shoot! I'm going to get fired because of this!' Her mind screamed in fear, and remained on the ground, horrified by what just happened.

"Oh my, don't tell me you're going to back down now?" A familiar voice cooed out, and moaned as he felt a chill run up his chest.

When Cider took a gander at her opponent, she felt the blood rush to her cheeks and averted her gaze from him. Though her bubbles didn't inflict any serious injuries on him, the nen bubbles blasted off the man's dressy shirt, revealing his flawless chiseled chest. It was official, this man is the definition of two opposite things; he's both a disturbing clown with strange kinks and had a body that even a man would admit was amazing. However, for the temp, this was embarrassing, and she tried to stop herself from blushing over seeing a man's sculpted abs.

'It's bad enough that half of my chest is showing, and now he's exposed too...' She thought in grimaced and continued to not look.

"Now now, no need to by shy." He muttered out quaintly, "Look."

Her cheeks were still burning red and she refused, "N-no no, I cannot look at you and I apologize for ruining your clothes! W-wait don't take that to offense, you have a fit body, but it wasn't my intention to strip you!" She welded her eyes shut, and bowed apologetically, "Even if you did cut up my favorite suit, I had no intention of ruining yours! I'm so sorry I'm really-Huh?" There on the ground in front of her was a page of the book, but it was just a simple ace of spades card, 'What the...'

When she saw the card on the ground, it felt like someone punched her hard in the gut; the clown played her like a fool.

The clown noticed her contorted expression, "No need to have that look on your face," He told her lightly, "You'll sour your victory."

"No you're wrong, you won by deceiving me..." She stated to him politely, and continued to avoid eye contact, "Though I will admit, that was an impressive trick of making your cards look like the book pages." She complimented him truthfully and bowed her head in defeat.

A familiar ringtone emitted from her pants' pocket, and she turned to her opponent as a way of asking for permission to view her phone. Getting another chuckle from him, she looked at her phone and it was a message from the mysterious app.

**"!"**

The app showed her a set of photographs, which some made her heart beat quickened. The first image was of her dead comrade, Ikaros, and his body was nothing but flesh like pages. Then the last image was of his funeral, and in the crowd was a familiar man with slicked back hair. That stranger in the photo was no doubt her old hunter comrade, Pietre, who many in the association believed him to be dead and rotting in a ditch. However, this recent photo says otherwise; Pietre was alive and breathing, and from looking at the emblem on his suit, he's now affiliated with the Shiao family in Yorknew. The sudden discovery was overwhelming for the young temp, who was now unsure on what to feel or what to do.

She tried getting up, but sharp jolts of pain shot throughout her body. Burning up a huge amount of nen had took a toll on her body, and she could barely run away from the clown's clutches. 'I really overdone it.' She thought and was then grabbed by the neck, "Gch!"

"You may have danced well, but you have not met your true potential..." He explained in sickly sweet tone, and then threw her across the floor, "I won't kill you just yet." He declared to her, and watched as she struggled to sit up. Smirking, he took out his phone and touched the screen with his slender fingertips, "Besides if I do kill you, who else will help me and find Pietre?" He inquired and showed her an old profile photo of her ex-comrade.

"Please... don't you dare speak of his name!" Cider snapped at him, and held back her tears.

"Well well, looks like I found your sweet spot." He said with a smile, "But why would you care for someone who betrayed your friends? After all that pain your squad..." He mocked her with the list of names that were important to her and smiled as she tried to hold back her grief, "...Kharon, Ikaros, Amalia had endured? Don't you want to settle it out with him or are you just going to run away and let your ex-comrades' pain be left unheard?" He stated and took in the pleasure of making her squirm, "So...what will it be? Help me and I'll give you the information of your Pietre or die here like a lapdog?"

The fact that this man has some sort knowledge about her past, and of her former buddies was terrifying, but his words rang of truth. Her ex-comrade, the one that betrayed his unit, was alive, but why did he choose to be working in the mafia instead of returning back to his home? She knew this jester was holding back information from her, but if she agrees to his terms, that would mean she broke her boss' promise of not doing anything remotely controversial in Yorknew.

"I..." She struggled with her words.

Before she refused, the words of her junior, Leorio, echoed out in her mind. "What kind of hunter are you if you don't try at all?" His words echoed in her mind, and his voice somehow slowed her rapid heartbeat. The spectacled man was right though, if she doesn't attempt on getting more information from the clown, what kind of hunter is she? All hunters have to hunt down something, even her boss' daughter has something that she's hunting for, but that has yet to be revealed.

She debated to herself, 'If I choose to pursue that, there's no chance of me returning to this life that I wanted. And if I remain in this path, then nothing happens...and I'll stay as a lousy temp whose struggling to live normally.' Cider closed her eyes, 'If Kharon, Cherie, and the others were still here, what would they do? It's so hard to remember them, but I need their guidance...' She told herself, and then a few recent memories flashed in her mind, 'What would they do?'

After thinking it over, she stood herself up from the ground, and wiped something in her eyes. "Before I help you with your endeavors, can you tell me your name?" She complied and said, "While not all temps do this, I like to know my clients' names, and despite this job is beyond the agency and it's affiliates, I will not say any word of your objective to anyone, unless needed too. Saying or leaking anything crucial would jeopardize not only your plans, but for me as well..." She finished and felt guilty of mentioning herself in the end.

"Well well, aren't you a polite little lapdog?" He mocked her in his cooing tone, and as a smile formed on his lips, he leaned towards the side of her face, "My name is Hisoka." He introduced himself lightly, and then whispered something in her ear. Though he didn't give her any info about Pietre or how Ikaros died, he was willingly to share her some details on his job request. Although the temp remained composed, deep down she was flabbergasted by his choice of words, and she grumbled at the fact that she had to decipher it on her own.

_**The city is their web.**_

_**Plan before it happens again.**_

_**All will be revealed.**_

_**Unseen Eyes...**_

As Hisoka's keywords were stowed away into her mind, he moved away from her ear, and smiled one last time, "I'll relay the rest of the information to you, but before I go, I have another request for you to do for me..." He smirked and walked a few meters away from her, "Please continue to treat one of my unripened fruits and his friends well, just like how you treated me today~" He explained and when he threw another shu enhanced card at her, someone blocked his assault.

_"I'll leave you alone with him~ Have fun."_


	9. Sunny Boy

Hey guys, I hope you had a nice Summer, and I'm really sorry for the long wait and absence from updating this story! Unfortunately, September is over, but I'm aiming to finish up the Waldhalle chapters and tackling down the Yorknew Arc chapters in October and early November. As of now, updates will be slightly slower than the usual pace, but I'm hoping to pick up the pace after this chapter and when it leads up Cider's own arc. Also, I'm considering of changing the rating later into the story, but as of now it'll remain in the T rating. So happy reading guys, and as always, feedback and favs are always appreciated!

**Review Responses:**

To Xena: Thank you so much for the review, and I'm glad that you're enjoying the story so far! Also, thank you for pointing out that there are still a few grammar errors and inconsistencies (ex. Leorio being in his twenties) in some parts of the story which I'll be ironing out those errors from time to time. As for your question about Leorio's age in this story, he's currently nineteen while Cider is in her twenties (indicating her birthday had past somewhere in the story's timeline). Again, I appreciate your feedback ^^, so thank you again, and happy reading.

To Neisys/Nysis: I'm apologize for the long absence, and I hope this chapter makes up the long wait, and I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far!

To Yuyao: Thank you so much for the review, and rest assured, the story will continue!

To Renko The Ghost: Thanks for the review, and I'm glad that this story is giving you a mind full of wonder. Back to your question, yes, Cider did celebrate (and by celebrating, she got a warm phone call from her mom, and a few gifts from the former and her brothers) her birthday somewhere in the story's timeline without us. What month and day? We'll find out later on. What kind of gifts she got? A Pink Muscle Brauds' Beefcake Swimsuit Edition calendar for her work-desk, the latest makeup, and jewelry.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Hunter x Hunter, references, the images used for the covers, or songs used in this story.

Songs: Title of the Chapter: Sunny Boy by Soma Hayato

-Bar Music 3: That's The Pretty Side Of You by The Banana Splits

-Some advice from a mother: Character of the Family by Paniyolo

* * *

"The meter is running folks, so where too?" The taxi driver asked as he paid attention to the road.

Leorio then debated on what location to go, and while he thought on going back to the Crocus Apartment, he decided to go somewhere else. An idea popped up in his head, 'There is that cafe that Autumns suggested for Mika, but I need a place sells coffee not parfaits.' Snapping his fingers, he looked at the driver in the rear view mirror, and gave his answer. "Could you bring us to the nearest bookstore?" He asked lightly and received a nod from the driver, and a relieved sigh from the passenger beside him.

Placing down her phone, Mika smiled weirdly at her temporary babysitter who arched his eyebrow at her. "Thank you for not suggesting Süß Deluze...You wonderful gorilla." She said kindly, and went back to playing with her phone.

Although Mika praised him, Leorio was not sure whether to be mad about being called a gorilla or surprised by the fact that she thanked him. On the bright-side, her soured mood had softened a bit which was enough to make the babysitting more bearable. As the taxi drove through the pathways, Leorio took out his phone and gazed at the interactive screen. Aside from getting texts and emails from his classmates, there was barely any notifications of texts or voice messages from his hunter friends. Although he understood that they were busy with their own goals, he was curious to know how they were doing so far. About to admit his defeat, a text notification caught his attention, and it was from one of his hunter exam friends, Kurapika.

_"Sorry for not returning your calls, I've been so busy with training that I lost track of time, but don't worry I'm treating myself well. How's your studies in Waldhalle, Leorio?"_

A smile formed on his lips, and as he typed up his response on his phone, the nineteen year old looked back at the past few months. A small grumble emitted from his lips, and as he tried to type something onto the screen, the doctor's mind was drawing out a blank. He continued to recollect the past events, and while most of his experiences ranged from bad to average, he wasn't too sure on what to type on the phone. A sigh of defeat escaped his lips, and he struggled to type something to reassure his friend.

_"So far, everything's cool. I'm currently working at a clinic for community service, and I'm also working as a temp at the Hunter Agency here..."_

Busy typing his message on his phone, he heard a familiar voice calling out to him, and it was Mika, who was telling him that they were already at their destination. Before he left the taxi, he saved his unfinished message onto his phone, and followed Mika to the bookstore. Entering the bookstore, the two were welcomed by the sight of stocked shelves, and the scent of roasted coffee beans. In the corner of his eye, he noticed the seventeen year old's wide-eyed expression which made him chuckle.

Mika turned to Leorio with a brightened expression, "Do they have the latest issue of Pink Muscle Brauds?!" She asked excitedly, and his smile evaporated.

"N-no, and I doubt this place has those types of magazines...Though that kinda sucks because I want to see if they have the latest issue of Play Bunny." He said nonchalantly and noticed a section of empty tables. "You go on ahead and find something to read, I'll get myself a coffee and a table for us." Leorio said to an ecstatic Mika, and went on to get his fix of caffeine.

Two hours had passed, and Mika was still looking at the variety of books and magazines. As for the spiky haired man, he was reviewing his notes at an empty table and drinking a cup of coffee. Ten minutes later, Leorio lowered his notebook down, and stared at his briefcase that held the prized book. Curiosity struck the nineteen year old, and once he placed his notes down, then he opened his briefcase to get another glimpse at the book. Inside the organized briefcase laid the bejeweled book that was once a dangerous item, but because of the book was torn in half, the curse was easily nullified by an exorcist.

'There's no trouble taking at having a peek right?' He asked himself, and cringed at the smell, 'Man this stinks...It's worse than Tonpa's sock from the Hunter Exam...'

Opening the book, Leorio glanced at the pages that were written in a different language. It was nothing but intricate squiggles to the doctor, and he jokingly berated himself for thinking he could read this. Turning a few pages of the book, he suddenly came across a set of pages that were glued together, and before he could separate the pages, a voice startled him.

"What are you doing with that book?" muttered out a both curious and concerned Mika, which made him jump out of his seat.

"O-oi! Don't startle people like that!" Leorio answered as he tried to remain composed, and placed his finger near his lips, "I just wanted to take a peek at this book that's all...and figure out why it was making Cider frown."

"You noticed that too?" asked Mika, who placed down a pile of books onto the table and flicked her glasses quickly. She attempted to cheer her caretaker up, "Well...maybe it's because the book looks gaudy with that gem in the center. If I were her, I wouldn't be caught dead holding that." Hearing Mika's half baked answer made him laugh lightly, and in response she gave a shrug. "What it is true, the book stinks both in smell and design."

"Aww c'mon don't be like that, with a little spit shine; every lady wants this book in their hands." He responded proudly, and proceeded to polish the book, but as he polished the ruby; the gem popped out of the cover and rolled off the table.

When the gem landed onto the floor, Leorio's smile evaporated, and was replaced with a horrified expression. A grim aura formed between the two, one was scared that he'll be fired and the other was trying to hold back herself from screaming at him like a kid. Before he made up an excuse and pleaded Mika to not report this to Autumns, he noticed something on the cover. Behind the ruby were two initials, K+F, and it was carved into the leathery cover. Seeing that her caretaker was intrigued by the damaged book cover, Mika picked up the gem off the ground, and squinted her eyes at the shimmering mineral. The appearance, the density, and the cut was genuine, but this would only apply to normal folk or those who have not learned to enhance their eyes with nen.

"The ruby...it's a fake." She told Leorio, but as he was about to respond to her statement, someone entered the bookshop.

Entering the store were a group of people in pressed clean suits, and something about them made the two extremely nervous. Granted, they were just a bunch of people wearing silk suits, but it was odd to see a huge number of them entering the shop. The thugs stood in front of the cash register, and talked to the sales' associate. With their lips shut, Leorio and Mika listened to the conversation. One of the thugs asked the cashier if he saw a man who was around five feet or a woman with blue hair.

'They're looking for her...' Leorio thought, and finally realized why Cider told Autumns to dismiss him. "That idiot." He muttered under his breath, and saw that

The cashier shook his head and the thugs went into different areas of the shop. Two of the thugs walked over to tables, and without hesitating, Leorio swiped the ruby out of Mika's hand and stashed both the gem, and the book into his briefcase. Looking back at Mika, he saw that she looked both scared and worried about something.

"Act natural," Leorio muttered out to the girl, and nudged his head to the pile of books on the table. "Just buy one of the books, and leave the shop normally. Don't worry, I'll be out in a bit." He said, and continued put away his belongings into his briefcase.

Just as the two thugs walked past the two, Leorio accidentally knocked over his cup of coffee off the table which caught the attention of the suited duo. As they helped Leorio by getting him napkins, Mika walked over to the register to pay for her books and averted eye contact from the thugs who were standing at the register. Inches away from her were another pair of suited thugs; the pony-tailed thug was looking through travel magazines and the other was debating to buy a container of chocolate covered coffee beans. When Mika finally left the shop with her purchased books, Leorio walked over to the cash register, and bought himself one of the books that Mika picked up earlier. As he headed over to the shop's entrance, he overheard two of the thugs talking near the register.

"Are we really waiting out for some lame trade-off?" The pony-tailed thug asked her buddy who was eating a few pieces of candy.

"Yup," The thug said as he munched on his candy, "It sucks, but all we can do is just believe on our boss' word and see if that blue collared bozo can seal the deal."

"But is it really that important to the boss?" The pony-thug stated, and went back to looking at her magazine. "Oh by the way, you know what happened to me earlier? I bumped into this weirdo with clown make-up, and man he was creepy!" She changed the topic, and continued the conversation with her partner.

* * *

Somewhere on the other side of Waldhalle was a tiny bar and like it's alcohol; it was both warm and dry. Outside of the bar stood Leorio and Mika; both were lightly soaked from the rain. Taking shelter, Leorio attempted to contact Cider for the fifth time, but like the other four attempts; he received a message that Cider's phone was not in service/available.

Mika overheard him cussing under his breath, "Still no luck?" She asked lightly, and masked her worries by flicking her glasses.

"No...but maybe six times the charm. If it doesn't work, you try contacting her." Leorio explained and attempted to call Cider about the thugs. However, each time he tried to call her, his phone told him that the phone number was not available. Then a horrible scenario struck his mind which made him grit his teeth. 'Don't tell me...did those thugs?' He asked himself worriedly, and suddenly heard someone exiting out of the bar. It was a young woman in her late 20s who had her hair in a bun and was wearing a violet colored apron.

As the woman threw away the trash into the trashcan, she then saw Leorio and Mika. "O-oh my, you look so familiar..." She muttered out in shock. " Hey, aren't you those students who were working at Kasper's clinic, and aren't you that person who helped me with my wrists?" She asked with a warm yet curious expression.

Putting away his cell phone, Leorio smiled gladly at the woman, and was happy to see that she had recovered from her injuries. "I'm glad to see that you're doing fine Ms. Geneva, how's your son?" He asked the bun-haired woman curiously.

"He's doing fine~! My husband is picking him up from school, so unfortunately I can't really serve you or your friend any fancy drinks, but I can serve you guys some cold sweets or rice dishes. Oh, and please call me Shirley. " She answered kindly, and took notice of the rain beating down harder. "Ah looks like the rain is going to stop anytime soon, why don't you two stay inside and wait till the rain dies down?" She offered with a smile.

"Thanks, but we can't really do that." Leorio declined politely, and looked over at Mika who was trying to contact the temp on her cell phone. "A friend of ours isn't answering her phone, and we're trying to find her." He explained Shirley, who gingerly grabbed his shoulder.

"Well if I were you're friend, I would feel awful if you caught a cold just from trying to find me. Not only that, it's best to think on where you friend could be and not run around town like a lunatic in the rain." Shirley replied gently, and beckoned the two to go inside the bar. "So c'mon now, get inside and have yourself a warm...sundae- err, rice bowl? O-or you can wait till my husband comes back so he can make warm drinks for you guys~" She said with a small nervous giggle.

The bun-haired woman was right, if the two just stormed out without any information: it's very likely they wouldn't find Cider in time and one of them will get sick in the rain. However, a certain spiky haired man would rather run out in the storm to find their friend and face the consequences later. Having no way of getting out of this situation, the two complied to Shirley's wish, and went inside the empty bar. Five minutes had passed and the two barely made progress on where Cider is located at. Tapping his feet impatiently, Leorio looked at the things that were placed on the table: his notes for the exam, Mika's laptop, the books that they bought, their phones, and the torn cursed book and it's ruby.

He reached out for the red stone, "So how could you tell that this is fake? From what I can see, the cut and the color looks genuine." He said to Mika and continued to stare at the ruby closely. Then he lightly scratched the surface of the stone with the tip of his fingernail, "It's also extremely solid, meaning that it cannot be scratched by a coin or fingernails."

Mika nodded her head in agreement and removed her glasses. When she removed her glasses, Leorio saw a small pool of nen forming around her eyes and she was looking at stone in his hand. "To a majority of people: the gem would look and feel real, but for those who can use nen well enough: they can spot out the differences within the mineral. Which means that-" The seventeen year old explained lightly.

"Someone used nen to make the gem look and feel real. Sounds pretty awesome for the con artists, but bad for the suckers." Leorio finished her sentence and was astonished by the person's ability. Then a startling question formed in his brain, "Is there a chance that someone in the agency would replace the real book with a knock-off?" He said in a worried tone, but was somewhat relieved when he saw Mika shaking her head.

"I don't know much about how hunters manage knock offs in the library, but what I've read and heard from my past caretakers: there's always a chance that someone would do that to the library or any place that holds valuable items, but anyone who is dumb enough to do it better have a good reason to do so or they would be in deep water with my father, that Clara lady and a good portion of the association" She explained lightly and put back her glasses on. "It makes me wonder if Cider knew about this, but I can understand why she didn't think twice about the book being fake. But still, it would suck that she gets in trouble by my dad for no good reason." Mika muttered concernedly, but quickly replaced her worries with an angry groan. "This really blows! I find you and that blue haired ditz the two least annoying caretakers and now there's a high chance that both of you will get replaced because this book is fake or I'll end up losing one of you from those suited brutes." She continued with her frustrated yet childish rant that contained insults which were directed to Leorio and Cider.

While Mika's insults varied from "You gorilla with bad taste in women" to "that awkward blue haired bimbo with horrible taste in food", Leorio knew that the haughty teen didn't really mean it. Every since she started flicking her glasses, he could tell that the girl is scared and worried over her babysitter. Although she was ranting out of worry and frustration, him being called a gorilla was making his bloody boil, but he refrained himself from blurting something out of rage. Once Mika was finished with her rambling, she went back to laptop and started to type up something.

"Alright enough rambling and being distracted, time to do some research on the book and find out where Cider is located at...And while I'm on the laptop, STUDY!" She stated haughtily.

'What a strange girl...Hey, aren't I the one whose babysitting!?' Leorio shrugged off his thoughts, and went over to review his notes. Then he realized something strange about this scenario, "W-wait a minute Mika, shouldn't you be studying this exam too?!"

She led out a light sigh, "I dropped Kasper's courses, and before you ask: my dad wants me to retake those courses and Kasper wasn't really mad about me quitting it." She said bluntly and went back to typing.

After she answered Leorio's question, the two remained silent and continued with what they were doing. Though during his study session, Leorio glanced at his phone from time to time, and hoping that Cider would call or text him. One hour later, Leorio placed down his notes onto the table and gazed outside the window. It was still pouring outside, but the light grey skies had darkened.

"I think I already studied enough for tomorrow..." Leorio mumbled out to Mika and got out of his seat. "I'm going to try and look for her. Stay here, and if I don't come back in the next hour, you might need call your dad." He told her sternly, and as he was about to leave the bar, someone entered the bar.

"Oi oi, are you alright?! Sh-Shirley, call a doctor now!"

Entering the place was the burly owner and clinging to the man's arm was a six year old boy who looked like a spitting image of Shirley. Then there was someone slung over on the owner's back; it was a man that was around 4'9 and he was wearing a periwinkle suit. Seeing that the petite man needed medical attention, Leorio ran over to the entrance and helped the owner carry his body to an empty booth.

"What happened to him?" Leorio asked the owner calmly, and helped the owner place the man gently on the cushioned booth seat.

"I found him running through the hallways and he was acting like he saw a ghost. Next thing you know, he passed out after giving me his name and almost giving my son a heart attack...Oh, his name is Hiroko." The owner explained and covered his face as he sneezed.

"I see..." Leorio responded, and took his off his grey blazer. "I'll do some observations and take care of this guy's injuries. In the mean time, you should take a seat and dry yourself." He said kindly.

Once the bar owner left the bespectacled man alone, he took a closer look at the man's body, and saw that there were a few cuts on his suit. He checked his vitals; his heart rate was normal and his temperature was at a steady 97.8 degrees. Then he noticed the slashes on the man's expensive suit, and the cuts looked similar to paper cuts. Thankfully the suit was only ruined, but as he studied the man's body closer, Leorio saw that the man's right palm had three deep cuts and he proceeded to treat it. After sterilizing the gashes, he wrapped the man's hand with bandages. As he bandaged his hand, Leorio glanced at the man's suit pockets, and saw a play card that was protruding out of the guy's left pocket.

'Wait...A joker card...' Leorio thought to himself, 'Why does this sound so familiar?' He asked himself and recollected the events that happened. Yesterday night, he obtained Cider's phone from the bar owner who mentioned that some weirdo with makeup found it. Then earlier today, he gave back Cider's phone and she mentioned she had some weird poker app installed on her phone. Lastly at the library, he overheard two thugs mentioning about bumping into someone with clown make-up. Understanding why it felt and sounded so familiar struck him in the most horrifying way possible, and before ran over to grabbed his belongings, he heard a groan coming from the table.

"Urgh..." The petite man groaned as he slowly gained back consciousness. Few moments later, the man abruptly sat himself up which startled Leorio and Mika who was still on her laptop. "The book!" He muttered out in fear, and realized he was not outside in the rain. "W-wait, where am I?" He asked himself and looked toward Leorio vacantly. "Hey, aren't you that guy that Cider is partnered with?" He said to the doctor blankly.

Leorio's heart started to race, "Yes, I'm her buddy. Where is she, Hiroko?" He asked sternly.

"She's probably still at the top of the Hohespitzen Building," Hiroko said and rubbed the back of his head. "Stupid braud is probably fighting that clown bastard, and she ruined my suit from pushing me into that dumpster."

"You left her there and you didn't go back to help her?!" Leorio watched as Hiroko nodded condescendingly, and at that point, he felt his blood boiling. "What kind of senior leaves their junior alone like that?!" He asked angrily and hurried himself to grab his things.

Before he left the bar with his briefcase, Leorio turned to Mika who had heard every word from Hiroko. "Watch over that idiot Mika, I'm going to get Cider." He told Mika sternly and headed off to find the blue haired temp. Once he departed, Mika led out a heavy sigh and went back to her laptop. As she got on her laptop, Hiroko rubbed the back of his nervously and smiled at the seventeen year old.

"A-ah Ms. Autumns, I didn't expect that you would be here at this hour. Would you like something to drink?" The petite man asked in a sugary tone.

"Buttering me up isn't going to get you out of this," She blurted out without moving her eyes away from the computer. "Before my godfather treats your wounds, how about you wash off that smug look on your face in the restroom before he and my father comes here?"

Cursing under his breath, Hiroko headed off to the restroom and left Mika alone at her booth. With a few light taps onto the keyboard, a set of windows began to load on her laptop's screen. Once they were done loading, it showed Mika a video of Leorio running through the streets, an EKG graph, and a radar that showed two glowing dots that were a few distances away from another dot.

"Five times the fun has been activated." A computer voice emitted from the laptop.

A sharp pain formed in the middle of Mika's forehead which made her cringed, 'I forgot that using this to its fullest is going to take a lot out of me, but I rather help and have a ditz and a gorilla babysit me instead of a bunch of jerks from father's agency.' She told herself, and pinched her left ear where she placed a small nano chip onto her earlobe.

"Activating nano chips...Connecting to Subject B: Leorio." The laptop said to its owner.

_"Leorio, can you hear me?"_

* * *

Sorry if the chapter was short, but don't worry the next chapter will be out soon and we will finally go onto Yorknew!


	10. Alps

Alright guys here comes another chapter, and things are finally picking up. Wooo~! Feedback and favs are always appreciated.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Hunter x Hunter, artwork used for the covers, or any songs that will be used in the story.

**Review Responses:**

**To TBG23: **Thank you so much for the review and I'm super glad you're enjoying the budding relationship between the two characters and Cider's past reemerging bit by bit. Unfortunately, I cannot answer any questions about Phinks without spoiling too much, but I can say that Cider will not be revealing a connection to him. Though if you think about it, that's one sure way to start a conversation with a certain scarlet eyed boy (This horrifying scenario won't likely happen in the story, I promise lol ;;;). I hope you can stick around and wonder on what's going to happen. Again, thank you for your comment and happy reading!

**To Renko The Ghost: **Thanks for the tip, and from re-reading the summary that is currently being used for the upcoming Yorknew arc, I can agree that it almost looks like it's implying that Phinks and Cider were former lovers, but like you said it's best to watch things unfold :D. When you think about it, that's another way to start a conversation with Leorio and his pals (Another horrifying yet comical scenario that won't likely happen ;;;) As for Pietre being related to Pietro, they just share familiar sounding names lol.

Songs: Title of the Chapter/A message from a friend: Alps by Last Dinosaurs

-Things go with the flow: Interludium by Masashi Hamauzu (from the SaGa Frontier 2 OST)

-Off we go to another adventure: Taiyou ha yoru mo kagayaku by Wino (as much as I adore Madhouse version of HxH, the 1999 version of the Yorknew Arc and its opening has a special place in my heart.)

* * *

It's been five minutes since Leorio left the bar, and as he ran through the sea of umbrellas and glittering stalls, he called out to a taxi driver who was beside an unattended bicycle rack. Getting the cab driver's attention, the nineteen year old asked him for directions to the Hohespitzen Building. The driver stroked his beard, "Hohespitzen Building is 10 miles away from here, and it usually takes about 40-50 minutes to walk there. I would offer to bring you there, but I just got called in to pick someone up." He explained and gave an apologetic smile to the nineteen year old. After thanking the driver for directions, Leorio snatched the flower basket bike beside the car, and peddled his way through the streets. As he rode his bike through the alleyways and tunnels, Leorio remembered his morning conversation with Cider in her apartment.

_"I told Autumns that you have to study for Casper's exam, so you'll only be doing half of the work, and will be dismissed for the remainder of today...I'm sorry! I'll make it up to you I swear! Besides Casper's exams are more important than this job, and passing that exam will bring you one step closer to your dream! But if you're still mad, I'm really sor-"_

**"Leorio, can you hear me?"**

'That ugly smile on your face...You knew something was going to happen huh?' He thought heavily, and felt conflicted of the girl's actions. Though Cider had the best intentions of dismissing Leorio from today's job, he was upset by the fact that she done that and left him in the dark again. However, the horror of her fighting a psychotic clown by herself outweighed his other emotions. He led out a frustrated growl and peddled out himself out of an alleyway, but then he noticed that there were two paths in front of him. "Dammit...which way?" He asked himself, and before he envisioned a rigged coin toss in his mind, a familiar voice gave him a suggestion.

**"Take the left path..."**

A light smile formed on his lips, "Thanks Mik-HUH!?" Realizing that he was thanking someone out of thin air, Leorio looked around to see if anyone was following him. All he could saw was a bunch of trashcans and four-legged shadows. 'There's no one here, but I heard someone just now.' He thought to himself in horror, and slowly peddled over to the left pathway. 'Am I losing my mind?' He asked himself in his mind worriedly, and heard the same voice again, but this time it was shouting.

**"You're going to lose a lot more if you keep peddling that slow! Pedal faster gorilla! I'm speaking to you through your mind, and you can do the same too!"**

Realizing who that flighty tone of voice in his mind was coming from, Leorio quickened his pace, and hesitantly talked to the body-less voice in his brain. 'Mika, is that you? How is that even possi-' He asked in dumbfounded tone, but was quickly cut off by her.

"Look, I can't really give you a full detail without using up my nen, but I'll try to give you a simple rundown." Mika muttered lightly to Leorio who could hear the faint taps of computer keyboard. "My nen ability or hatsu, works like an electronic that has five different apps and I can use it on people by applying a nano chip or what I call, Pox, onto the subject. The pox will implant themselves onto the person's earlobe and once the pox is on the person, I can fully use my apps on them. The app that I'm using is like a walkie talkie but you don't need to move your lips to talk and both of us can only hear each other. The pox transfers your thought/sound/heart waves to my laptop. But enough explaining! I'm going to hang up now to reserve my nen, but you better save your darling from getting killed or else I'm going to be stuck with another lousy babysitter!"

"You don't have to tell me twice...H-hey wait a minute, who are you calling darling?!" Leorio shouted and started to pump his legs faster. Before Mika's voice disappeared from his mind, he asked her a question about her ability. "Just in case if I need help, how can I call you?" He asked curiously.

"Just pinch the left thingy of your ear to call or to hang up." She explained in a huffed tone.

"You mean my left earlobe?" He said lightly and proceeded to pinch his ear lobe.

"Yeah, that's the na-" Mika shouted, but was accidentally cut off by the peddling nineteen year old.

"Whoops!"

* * *

'Well at least he knows that function...' Mika thought to herself lightly and glanced at the computer screen which had an open internet browser. 'I should continue looking through things I found on the hunter's database, but I gotta make sure that bozo doesn't leave the bar.'

Detaching the keyboard off from her laptop, Mika headed over to the restrooms and walked passed the bar owner and his family. However, she suddenly stood still and secretly watched the family's interactions with each other. The burly bar owner was both drying himself off with a towel and talking to his wife, Shirley, who had a saddened expression on her face. From what Mika heard from the parents, their son and his buddies got caught for carving something onto someone's tree. 'Are they going to ground him or not give him supper?' The seventeen year old asked herself curiously, and watched the scene unfold. In the corner of her blue eyes, Mika saw that the young boy was still shaken up from today's rainy encounter, and she somewhat hoped that he didn't get in trouble with his parents.

Shirley brushed away the strands of wet hair from her child's face, "Not only what you and your friends did at that tree is not nice, you almost gave your dad a heart attack when he got called in by the teacher. We raised you better, Arnold." She scolded her six year old son lightly, and he nodded his head apologetically. She smiled reassuringly to her boy, "You had a rough day champ, how about you get yourself cleaned up and I'll make you something in the kitchen?" The boy's eyes sparked up, "Okay!", and before the young boy headed off to the opposite side of the bar, he took notice of Mika who hadn't moved an inch. "Hi mousy!" Arnold greeted the seventeen year old cheerfully, and saw that she swiftly walked away from him and his family.

'I wasted time just from watching a family moment...How stupid of me. Argh, I sound like that blue ditz who probably has those moments.' Mika berated herself lightly and stopped in front of the men's restroom which was locked shut. The fact that the door is locked told the haughty teen that the pipsqueak temp hunter, Hiroko, was taking his sweet time on the porcelain throne. While there was a possibility that the guy had escaped, Mika had doubts that the man would do that. 'Either way, he's going to get caught by my father. Though I doubt he'll do anything for someone whose not related to me or those who are low ranked like her...' She thought heavily and sat herself beside the locked door. Laying her back onto the wall, Mika reopened her laptop and clicked on one of the apps on her screen that was called, Eye Candy. Once she clicked the app, she was shown a video of a moving stoned pathway that was covered in puddles. The video was in the perspective of Leorio, and it looked like he was still far away from the Hohespitzen Building. Closing the app temporarily, she moved her fingers and clicked on another app on the screen which showed her a radar. Within the radar's circle, the dot that represented Leorio's current location revealed that he was close to his destination, but something was changing within the radar. The two dots that was inches away from Leorio had vanished from Mika's sight. Once those two dots disappeared, a jolt of pain surged through the seventeen year old's head and she led out a painful groan.

"Ouch...that hurt!" She said with her eyes tearing up and her ears were welcomed by the sounds of an electronic jingle. 'That must be Leorio calling.' She thought and pinched her earlobe, but as she answered his call, her ears suddenly caught the sounds of someone slamming into a puddle and cursing loudly. "That didn't sound good..." She told herself and was slightly concerned of what happened to her spiky haired babysitter. Before she pinched her right earlobe, Mika was startled by the fact that someone was sitting beside her without making a peep. It was none other than the bar couple's son, Arnold, who was smiling at the seventeen year old.

"Mama said that your order is ready at your table and you shouldn't be sitting alone in the hallway!" The orange haired kid explained in a chipper tone.

"Order? W-wait kid, I didn't order any-" Before she could finished her sentence, she was distracted by the sight of the bar owner lightly bonking the top of his son's head. "Oi, what did I tell you about not scaring customers like that?" The burly man told his son gruffly, and saw that the men's restroom doors were locked shut. "Girly, you do know that the lady's restroom is that way right?" He explained to Mika concernedly and she quickly stood herself up. "I know, but I'm just checking on..._my friend_ whose been in the restroom. If it's no trouble of asking, are there are any windows in your powder rooms?" She asked curiously.

The bar owner shook his head, "Not a single one. What, are you planning to escape? Good luck with using the men's room because door will lock anyone in the room." He responded with a hearty laugh and as he walked out of the hallway, he also lightly pushed the two kids out of the hallway. "No reason for any of us to loiter in the hallway and you're quite lucky no one stole anything from your table. Just sit tight with my son and unwind girly." He said to the two, and made Mika sit back at her table along with the little boy.

'...Am I getting suckered into buying something from this bar? Oh shoot, I almost forgot about.' Mika asked herself and lightly pinched her earlobe.

**"Uhm...Are you okay Leorio? A while ago, it sounded like that you fell off your bike."**

* * *

"I did fall and I landed into a puddle." Leorio muttered in his mind and wiped away the muddy water from his glasses. A few moments ago, the nineteen year old was biking his way through the alleyways and once he saw a sign that said, Hohespitzen, he maneuvered his left arm to pinch his earlobe. When he moved his hand away from the handlebars, Leorio didn't realize that the bike was about to hit a small pot hole in the road. Once the bike's front wheel landed into the hole, the rider along with his briefcase were sent off flying and both landed into a huge muddy puddle. Seeing that his suit was covered in grime and splotches of wet dirt, the nineteen year old groaned heavily at his appearance. "There goes my goal for keeping this suit clean for tomorrow's exam...Shit." He cursed under his breath, and started to look for a way to get to the top of the building.

Though the building in front of him was not in use, the doors were surprisingly not locked, but the whole place was pitch black. Using the light on his phone, Leorio carefully walked into the building and continued to stay in contact with Mika. Illuminating his way to the stairs, Leorio got a better look of the building's interior which was still under construction. This area was an ideal place for criminal activity, and just thinking about it gave him the chills. From what he remembered at the bar, the petite hunter said that Cider was still at the rooftop and fighting for her dear life or in this case fending for her scumbag senior who didn't come back to help her.

Even though the building had thirteen floors, the nineteen year old was determined enough to sprint through the rickety fleets of stairs and reach the rooftop. When he placed his feet on one of the treads, his foot almost went in and the wood that was holding the stairs in place started to crack. Hearing someone panicking in his ear, Leorio frantically hopped off the stairs and landed face first onto marble flooring. "Ow ow ow." He winced and listened to the sounds of crumbling and the echoes of debris landing in the bottom floors. All there was left was a huge gap between the floor he was on and the remaining set of stairs. Brushing off the dust from his dirtied suit, he picked up belongings and shined his phone's light at a wall sign that read, 10th floor. He was three levels away from the rooftop, but he refrained himself from bolting up the stairs.

"T-that was scary..." Mika muttered and reattempted to mask her fears with a calm tone.

"No kidding, I almost pissed myself." He stated but quickly changed the subject to ease the blondie's nerves. "So, what happened to Hiroko? Did that bastard run away again?" Leorio asked roughly

"He locked himself in the restroom and can't get out."

"Figures he would try to escape by using the men's room." Leorio said smugly, and heard a childish yet dispirited sigh from the girl. "Something wrong?" He asked the girl, and she groaned heavily but this time it sounded like she was in pain.

"No I'm fine, it's just my hatsu is giving me a nasty headache right now and because I'm switching back and forth with my apps, it's taking up my nen which is at 20% out of a 100%." Mika muttered wearily.

"Hang up now and rest, I can take over from here." He ordered the girl sternly and she gasped at his response.

"Wha? N-no way, I want to help!" She protested stubbornly and it vaguely reminded him of her dad, Autumns, who may or may not care of what's happening with his temps.

"You're already helped me enough, and besides, do you want me and Cider to get in trouble with your dad? If that happens, you probably won't be able to see or hang out with us again which I will admit that would suck and Cider wouldn't like it either." He stated lightly at the girl who suddenly turned quiet for a few minutes.

Finally she sighed in defeat, "Okay I'll hang up and wait for you guys at the bar! You guys better come back." She said awkwardly and she heard him chuckle a bit.

"We will, see ya later Mika." Leorio pinched his earlobe and continued to his walk up the stairs. Finally he reached the thirteenth floor, but something in the air felt completely off. The bizarre feeling reminded him of his first day at the university and how he couldn't get into his class without being scared. Shrouding himself in his nen, Leorio vaguely remembered the moment he learned Ten from Cider who at first was reluctant of teaching him.

_"If you have doubts about my abilities then I don't blame you. Heck, I'm kinda surprised you trust me in training you and I barely know even know you other than you go to the same school as me [...] it's been a long time that I felt this confident with something, so please trust me just this once."_

'I trust you, but the real question is do you trust me enough for me to know what's going on?' He questioned the blue haired temp in his mind and ran to the rooftop's entrance. Opening the door, he found himself seeing two people standing face to face and one of them was close to their face. There he saw an exhausted Cider who struggled to stay on her feet, and from what he can see, she was covered in lacerations. Then there was other guy, Hisoka, who only had a few light bruises and his torso was exposed in the moist air. Suddenly, Hisoka backed away from the blue haired temp and briefly turned to Leorio's direction with a smirk. When the clown smirked at him, he felt his heart racing and sweat rolling down from his brow.

Strangely, the menacing clown didn't run to Leorio's direction and instead he turned his attention to the blue haired girl. There the clown took out his signature weapon and threw it straight at Cider. Knowing it was time to take action, Leorio dropped his belongings and sprinted towards her. Landing inches away from the card attack, Leorio had his arms wrapped tightly around Cider who had passed out from exhaustion.

'That's strange...I felt something warm on my lips.' Leorio thought to himself and slowly moved away from Cider's unconscious body. Then he turned his gaze to the clown, who was affectionately holding the play card he threw at his target.

"Oh my..." The clown cooed out at cunningly, and his smirk remained on his face. Seeing one of his unripened fruits pulling a brave stunt like that had whetted his appetite, but because of his battle between the girl had sated his thirst for today, he decided to leave the young man alone. Once he kissed his play card, Hisoka strutted away from the two and said his goodbyes. "I'll leave you alone with him~ Have fun." He said lastly and departed into the shadows.

'Was he referring to me?' Leorio asked himself and as he looked down to check on Cider, he felt his face heating up. While most of the girl's suit was covered in slashes, her once clothed chest was now in shreds and her lacy brassiere was now exposed to the public eye. Quickly shrugging off his shyness, he observed the huge bruise on the upper part of her stomach and gently touched the area. The unconscious girl led out a faint yet pained whimper, and there Leorio removed his blazer in a quick matter. Once loosened up his tie, he heard her muttering something in her sleep.

"Eel. Chicken. Gizzard. Rice..." She mumbled out and a dorky smile formed on her lips.

"Don't worry, you'll get something to eat later." He told her lightly and opened his brief case that was filled with medical supplies. "But first, let's fix you up." Leorio told her determinedly and rolled up his sleeves.

* * *

**_The city is their web._**

**_Plan before it happens again._**

**_All will be revealed._**

**_Unseen Eyes..._**

'Unseen eyes...Why does that sound so familiar?' Cider asked herself and slowly opened her eyes. All she saw in front of her was the cloudy sky above her and recalled on what happened a few hours ago. She fought a scary clown that somehow knew of her past, and she had agreed to help him for an exchange of information of her former comrade. She welded her eyes shut, 'Stupid me, why I couldn't I say no to him?' She asked herself and discovered that she was covered with a gray blazer. In the distance, she heard the faint sounds of someone using their cell phone and a familiar voice cursing under his breath.

"Shit, there's no reception here." Leorio snapped bitterly, and gasped as he saw that Cider was staring at him.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you- W-wait, did the clown attack you!? Ow, ow, ow!" Cider shouted at him worriedly and when she tried to get herself up from the ground, a small bursts of pain flowed through her body.

"Hey, hey! Take it easy or you'll do your bandages!" He told her sternly and slowly helped her sit up. "And I should be one worried about you. Hisoka really did a number on you...and your suit." Leorio rejoined and averted his gaze as she fixed the blazer that was covering her chest. "How on earth did you get that creepy clown's attention and was it because of the book?" He asked, and watched as Cider tried to think up an answer to give him closure. There he saw that she was masking her woes with her awkward smile, and he sighed lightly. Not wanting to be in her shadows, he finally asked her the question.

"Do you trust me as less of a work partner and more of a friend to tell me everything?" He asked bluntly, and it left the girl speechless. "I appreciate the fact that you were trying to protect me today by dismissing me and making me take care of Mika, who was worried about you the whole day. But this awkward secrecy shtick of yours is really bugging the hell outta me and it's making me think that you don't see me as a friend."

'A friend...' She thought and the strange sensation that she felt yesterday formed in her heart.

Cider remembered what happened to her earlier, she told the clown that she won't say a word to anyone that's tied to the association and would only say anything unless needed to do so. But what Leorio said was bizarre to her, and his words revealed to her that she left a small loophole in her oath to the clown. The guy wasn't fully tied to the association and because he's only a temp assistant in a temp hunter agency, he's only considered as a med student with a hunter license.

'Can I really call him a friend and tell him about this job?' She asked herself doubtfully, but recalled the moments that she spend with him so far. One of the moments she remembered was the day that Leorio encouraged her to take risks in teaching the former the first nen principal. 'I took so many risks with him so far...so maybe it's fine to take this one too.' Cider thought and slowly opened her mouth.

Before he admitted defeat, Leorio suddenly heard the blue haired girl muttering something awkwardly to him. "That creepy handsome clown wasn't here for the book! He tricked me and I fell for it!" She struggled out with flushed cheeks, and cleared out her nervousness in her voice. "He wanted my assistance for something, but before I could refuse, he showed me something that I wanted." Cider explained calmly and was concerned of Leorio, who remained quiet. She bowed her head in shame, "I'm sorry for putting you into so much trouble today and it's stupid of me of agreeing to take the clown's job. I'm really sor-Gch!" She blubbered dejectedly, but was interrupted by a bonk on the head from Leorio.

"Take deep breaths and quit apologizing for something you couldn't control." Leorio ordered the perplexed Cider calmly and watched as she rubbed the top her head.

"B-but..." Cider muttered out and then winced at the soreness of her body.

"Tell me everything on our way to Yorknew, and when I meant everything, I mean everything." He said and stood himself from the ground. Although he was mad by the fact that she took up the clown's offer for information, he somewhat sympathized with her. The girl had some things she needed to settle, but those things are still a mystery too him. Not only he felt sympathy toward her, but also knew that she was not the first one to accept Hisoka's deals. He walked a few inches away from her and sighed, "So what if you took the clown's offer, big deal, at least he didn't kill you right off the spot. Though you finding that guy handsome worries me..." He stated concernedly and erased the images of a sparkly Hisoka from his mind.

"..."

"No need to be ashamed of thinking he's handsome." He said reassuringly and suddenly felt a slight chill near his upper part of his legs.

"T-that's not...Uhm..." Cider mumbled nervously and felt her face turning red. "Your butt is exposed!" She cried out and threw Leorio's blazer back at him.

Once he grabbed his blazer from the girl, the nineteen year old turned his head to see what area of his body was the wind was hitting at, and he led out a scream. Across the back of pants was a thin slash and it was all thanks to Hisoka. "Damn you..." He cursed at Hisoka and threw the blazer back at the girl.

"Cover yourself up." Leorio demanded her, and averted eye contact.

"N-no you done enough for me. Cover your hindquarters Leorio." Cider insisted and threw the blazer back at him. Both of them were red in the face, and threw the blazer at each other.

"**No**. Cover yourself up."

"No no, I **insist** that you cover your hindquarters."

"Argh, if you're not going to cover your boobs, I will!"

"And I'll...I'll...Cover your butt!"

* * *

**_Kurapika,_**

**_So far, everything's cool in Waldhalle and lots of things happened since I came here. Schadel University is challenging, but I'm learning a lot from my professors and from my seniors, especially this hot med student which I'll send you a pic of her next time~ As of now I'm currently working as an intern at my professor's clinic, but I'm also working as an assistant for a temp hunter at the Hunter Agency here in Waldhalle. Though the work at the agency is tedious, it's never boring and the pay is pretty descent. Anyway, I'm excited to see you, Killua, and Gon again at Yorknew in September but remember to not over exert yourself and if you need anything, just call okay? See ya later. _**

**_Also when I finally see you guys, there's someone I would like to introduce to you, the temp hunter I'm working with. She's a bit eccentric and awkward as hell, but I'm sure you and the others will get along well with her. Unfortunately, the only *picture I have of her is an old one of hers and it ain't pretty, but it's better than nothing~! _**

"Hey gorilla! We better go to the terminal or we'll be stuck here at the airport." A flighty voice shouted at the spiky haired teen who staring blankly at the huge windows.

Snapping out of his trance, Leorio stood up from the benches and walked together with Mika to the terminal. It was four days since that rainy day, and a lot has happened in those past few days. One of the things that happened was Casper's exam for his class which the nineteen year old had passed successfully.

"Thank god I aced that exam." He muttered himself in relief.

"And you're quite lucky that my godfather went all the way to that building to find you two. But why was his face so red when he came to the bar with you two?" Mika asked curiously and Leorio face palmed shamefully.

"It's a long story that me, Cider, and Casper agreed to not talk about in public. Let's leave it at that." He said lightly and checked the time on his phone. "Where the hell is Cider anyway?" He asked impatiently.

"She forgot her purse at the security checkpoint which would suck because that's where the ballet tickets are." She answered and took out a piece of candy from her pocket.

"Is that the reason why you're tagging along with us?"

She shook her head, "No, I also want to help her with her job from that clown."

"W-whoa wait, how did you know about that?" Leorio asked worriedly, and noticed a familiar girl walking towards them. "Speaking of the devil."

Standing before the two was Cider, who was wearing a *brown jacket and jeans. Before anyone could say anything to each other, the three noticed that everyone was lining up to aboard the Yorknew airplane.

* * *

Onward to Yorknew everybody! And don't worry, everything that happened in the four day skip will be revealed in the next chapter! We finally going to Yorknew~!

Notes: *-Regarding about the picture that Leorio sent, think of any scrunched up anime face from any show and Cider's hair being her original color, dark brown. As for her clothes, search up Yawara (especially the new edition manga covers) and Lynn Minmay from Macross (especially from Flashback). There you'll get the gist of it!


	11. Aruarian Dance

Halloween is coming up pretty soon, so have this new chapter as a treat and have an awesome Halloween everyone! As always, happy reading and favs/reviews are always appreciated!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Hunter x Hunter, artwork used for the covers, or any songs that will be used in the story.

**Note/Reminder:** The first section is a recap from before the Rain chapters and the second section is a recap (some of the things that happened in the four day skip is revealed by dialogue) of what happened in those four days. In second section, the time setting is a day before leaving to Yorknew.

**Review Responses:**

**To TBG23:** To be honest, I'm still not so sure on nen abilities, but I'm doing my best by via reading the wiki and looking back at the show from time to time. Nonetheless, thank you for the review and I'm happy that you're enjoying the nen abilities so far.

**To Renko the Ghost: **I'm glad that you loved the antics that happened in the previous chapter, and yes, you were right about Casper being Mika's godfather which you will see a few things regarding about it in this chapter. Also, I agree that Leorio has bad luck when it comes to his suits lol (which I hope isn't OOC, but if it is please let me know) and I cannot imagine how much money he uses for suits. But at least his bad luck isn't as bad as Ciders' when it comes to suits and heels. How much money she uses to buy things like shoes and clothes? A good size portion of her paycheck.

**To Nysis: **Thank you so much for pointing out some of the grammatical errors in the previous chapter, and don't worry, I don't find it rude if someone points out a mistake/error in the story. Just like favs/reviews, I also appreciate seeing things like advice, spotting out errors, and tips from readers. Anyway, I'm glad that you find this piece of fan fiction original and some of the reference/injokes that are scattered in some of the chapters interesting, but as for the Japan/Japon reference, that was Togashi's doing not mine lol. Also, I'm glad that your enjoying the fact that Cider and Leorio's relationship is still developing throughout the story. As much as I like fast burning romances (only if they're done well) in different things, slow burning romances/friendships/ect. (and childhood romances) is something that I really like.

Songs: Title of the Chapter: Aruarian Dance by Nujabes

-Struggle to go forward into the uncertainty/Clara's theme: Reminiscing with Grandma by David Newman

-A few talks and a cup of tea will do the trick: Waltz for Zizi by Yoko Kanno

-Downtime for the three and small conversations between two people: Thank You by Tsutchie

-Fly on the wings of the wind: The Place In Which I Am by Sayuri Komi

* * *

"How's life treating you so far, Cider?" The gray haired woman asked the temp hunter warmly as they walked together in the underground library.

"I-I'm doing fine! I got one of the roles as the swans for my class' ballet for Yorknew." Cider answered nervously and checked around to see if there was any radroaches scurrying through the floors. She lowered her head a bit, "I apologize for not being able to have tea with you again in these past few weeks. I've gotten so busy that I had to keep postponing our engagement, again, I apologize Ms. Fouette...And thank you for asking." She answered with a small smile.

Clara giggled softly at the girl's mannerisms, "Again, just call me Clara, and don't worry about not having tea with me. We have plenty of time for doing that! My goodness you have changed a bit yet you still remain the same with your habits." She replied lightly, and took notice of Cider's worried expression.

"O-oh, but isn't bad if I stay the same?" She asked worriedly and bowed. "I'm sorry if my habits are annoying you." Cider apologized worriedly, but was given a reassuring smile.

"I don't find them annoying, but I'm pretty sure Autumns and that Paradinight fellow finds it irritating. But please do continue to irritate baldy..." Clara said lightly, and her smile quickly disappears from her face, "Forget what I just called Autumns." She told the temp with a dead pan expression.

"Forgetting, Clara." The temp agreed with a nod.

As they exchanged smiles and words with one another, the two continued their walk through the dark corridors of the cellar. When the librarian received a call from Autumns about a certain book for a certain client, the fifty five year old woman shooed away the children from her library, and awaited for the hunters to retrieve the book from her family's cellar. But when she received the call from the association, Clara was a bit reluctant of handing off a book to a temp hunter who may have ulterior motives, but she's always like this to any hunter. Though she never said or showed it directly to anyone, the librarian had a huge disliking towards most hunters, and only a few wonder why she had this stigma against them. The reason was still a mystery, and it was something that only a few people know.

"Here we are, the Blacklist Section, and do mind your step. You might slip from the ink on the floor." Clara explained, and heard a gasp from the girl.

Arriving at the Blacklist Section, the two saw that the area that was heavily covered in ink which almost made the temp panic. This was the first time that Cider saw the notorious Blacklist section, and was horrified by the fact that the books were soaked in permanent ink. Before she could freaked out, Clara placed her hand on the former's shoulder and asked her to back away from the area. Perplexed, Cider followed the woman's orders and watched as the fifty five year old shrouds herself in her nen. Noticing that the twenty year old was watching, Clara smiled confidently and gracefully raised her arms upwards into the air. "Pirouette." She said gently and without hesitation, she twirled gracefully in front of the temp. As the librarian pirouetted in front of the dark shadowed area, the ink slowly swirled upwards into the air which made Cider's jaw drop.

"It's like magic..." Cider thought openly with a dumbfounded look, and heard a small fake cough from the librarian.

"Changement." The fifty six year old declared and as she placed her arms down, the ink like swirls in the air dispersed.

Shielding herself from the small gust of wind and swirls of ink like smoke that had the consistency of ashes, Cider lowered her arms away from her face and quickly ran over to Clara, who had collapsed onto her knees. "Darn legs of mine," Clara snapped bitterly and watched as the temp helped her up. Once Clara was up on her feet, Cider gently brushed away the dust from the woman's shoulders. Clara led out a small laugh, even though she knew the young temp for some time now, some of the girl's actions astonished yet amused her.

'What a strange girl,' Clara though to herself and sighed, "My legs are not like they were back when I was young, but enough reminiscing, you got a job to complete." Finishing up her sentence, she walked over to the cleaned book shelves and pulled out a torn book that was encrusted with unpolished gems. When she handed the book to Cider, the temp was hesitant of touching such a thing and Clara sympathized with her. The book in her hands was said to do horrible things to people who come across it, and one of the things that the book can do was turn a recently deceased body into flesh like paper. Thankfully, that said curse from the book was considered to be just a rumor, but the hunter who found the book told Clara personally to not take any risks. So in the end, Clara got the best nen exorcist to nullify the book, and the result was a torn nullified book that was in language that was recently declared to be dead.

"The book is nullified to the fullest which means that no one will be afflicted with a curse if they touch it or open it." Clara explained kindly, but noticed a troubled expression on Cider, who then quickly masked it away with a scrunched up smile. "I've read and seen a lot of funny faces in books, but that one takes the cake." The old woman laughed, and the temp couldn't help but laugh as well. Though it was a jab, the temp knew it was just well-meant a joke and she didn't mind it. Once they finished laughing, Clara continued her explanation of the book.

"So yes, we may know of that the book originated from the Kurta Clan, but because that there's no official documents of who constructed it, we can only assume that this is from Meteor City. However, I have feeling that you knew this already because this artifact was part of a job that you did two years ago." Clara stated and saw that Cider was trying to remain composed. "I've recorded reports and findings for future hunters to read, but that particular case in Yorknew still baffles me." She explained and noticed that Cider was cringing a bit, as if she was waiting to be scolded. Clara sighed softly, "Just from looking at your movements and gestures, I can see that you're still overwhelmed by it. Nevertheless, as the owner of this library, I must know the hunter before I hand them any of my books or files. So please answer me this Cider Meiming, what is your reason of going to Yorknew aside from your recital and your duties as a temp?" She asked and held the torn book closely to her chest, as if she was waiting for the right answer.

Cider lowered her head a bit and looked back the memories when she was stationed in Yorknew. Although it was painful to recollect on, she needed to figure out her truest reason of going back to that city. She knew that the reason why she volunteered was for personal reasons, but ever since she had that hot pot session with two interesting folk, she completely forgot about it. Did she want to go to Yorknew to re-experience the small wonders of that city? Was it to go shopping for the latest clothes? Was it to go sightseeing with people that she wanted to call as friends? Was it to make amends with old comrades? The list goes on, but she could not remember the reason and she laughed at her mistake.

'What a stupid yet honest answer,' Clara thought as she listened to the temp's explanation and as she smiled, she closed her eyes.

She roughly remembered the first time Cider had entered her library and seeing the latter run away after falling on her butt. Ever since that day, Clara considered the girl to be too meek and feeble for a hunter, and speculated on how that girl passed her exams. At first, she believed that she'll never see that temp come back to the library, but this was proven wrong when a second infestation happened in the library. From that day on, she had gotten to know of the girl through small visits to having tea with her

'It's moronic yet from looking at her face, she's determined. Maybe that's enough for her to take this job...but I believe there's something else that she needs.' The old librarian said to herself and remembered the hunter who gave her the book. Though Cider's answer wasn't what Clara expected, it was better than hearing something impractical that was set in stone, and strangely the former's answer felt like a reliever to her. "Well whatever is that you need to do in Yorknew, go forth." Clara stated and handed the book Cider with a wide yet warm grin.

"While we go back to the entrance, can you tell me about the day that you and Leorio had to take care of Autumns' kid?" She asked politely, which Cider could never disagree to someone that she respected.

"I can never say no to you," Cider said kindly and guided the old woman through the cellar. As she shared her story with Clara, Cider then mentioned something to the librarian and it was something that she hoped that Clara would agree on. "U-uhm...once I come back from the trip, is it alright that we have tea together with Leorio and maybe Mika?" She asked with a hopeful tone and waited for a reply.

* * *

_"Of course! I was thinking of trying out one of those teas from your homeland, Baotai City. I'll be looking forward to hearing more of your ventures"_

'I was looking forward to it too...' Cider thought to herself as she put on a fresh pair of clothes.

For the last two days, Cider was recovering from her injuries in Casper's clinic, and kept for observation. During those two days, Clara Fouette had passed away from an illness, and it was bit of a blow to the association. As of now, the library is closed and to hunters who wanted to gain access, they had to go through a ton of paperwork and wait weeks for an approval from the association's branch in Waldhalle.

Though most of her injuries were healed, there was one thing that still remain damaged; her dignity. It was embarrassing that she got played like a set of cards, and for all she knew, that clown was probably doing it for his amusement. Not only it was shameful, but also a heavy reminder that Cider was getting rusty in combat which something that every hunter needed in their goals. Nonetheless, she was very thankful by the fact that a rookie hunter came to her aid, but also felt guilty of worrying him and Mika, who they were suppose to take care of.

'At least Mr. Hiroko, Mika, and Leorio are fine, it's better that I'm the one in the hospital.' She thought, and gazed through the room's window as she recalled what happened three days ago.

It was a clear day and the children were happily playing with each other on the hospital's small courtyard. As she quietly looked at the scenery below her, she recalled that Leorio had recently took an exam and had not told her of his results. She clasped her hands together, 'I hoped he passed, it would be horrible if he doesn't succeed his dream of becoming a doctor because of my stupidity.' She thought to herself, and remembered what he told her on that cloudy night.

_"Do you trust me as less of a work partner and more of a friend to tell me everything?"_

Cider firmly clenched her hand into fist and tried to ignore a weird sensation forming in her chest. Ever since that moment at the rooftop with Leorio, the sensation in her chest worsened a bit, and would sometimes find her cheeks flushed.

_'_I trust you as a friend and an equal, but...' She lightly gritted her teeth. "I'm scared." She told herself honestly, and decided to tell of her symptom to Casper when he comes back from the viewing. Suddenly, someone opened the door, and it was none other than Casper, who had a black sash around his arm. When she saw the sash on the doctor's arm, her expression softened and she smiled reassuringly at him.

Seeing that one of his regular patients had successfully recovered, Casper smiled back at her, and in his hand was a paper cup filled with hot liquid while the other held a bag full of oranges.

"Shirley's kid wanted me to have these, though this is a bit...excessive. But you know what they say, an orange a day keeps the scurvy away." Casper said with a small laugh and placed the items down on a nearby table. "How are you feeling so far, Meiming?" He asked clinically and began to peel himself an orange.

"I'm feeling better, thank you for asking." Cider answered lightly, and winced as she lightly felt some soreness in her body. "Uhm, I hate to sound like a ditz but...How long is my nen going to be in remission again?" She asked curiously.

Hearing the girl's question, Casper arched his eyebrow and recollected his treatments for Cider's injuries. The treatments were based around his conjuring nen ability, First Aid Bag to Recovery, and within the contents of the bag was random twelve medical items that can aid him or others. Three of the things he used for Cider were gloves known as, Healing Touch, a container of salve named, Pain Buster, and bandages which were called, Asthenis Oath. While Pain Buster sealed up superficial wounds and numbed out any pain, the gloves allowed the virus hunter to mend any internal injury without the need of opening someone up. However, using Healing Touch alone without the usage of Pain buster is said to be excruciatingly painful, and it is known in the association that Casper only used that method twice. Then lastly, the nen enhanced bandages that he wrapped around on Cider's arms.

**"As an exchange for a speedy recovery, you vow to follow the oath that is within these bandages. In order for a speedy recovery, you are not allowed to use your nen for the next five days."**

"Since I gave you five days to recover quickly with the Asthenis Oath, you can remove those bandages on the second of August." Casper said to Cider, and tossed her an orange.

"Understood, and thanks for the food." Cider replied and proceeded to peel her orange.

As they chatted among themselves with oranges, Casper recalled a few more things on that night at Hohespitzen's roof. When he came to the Hohespitzen building by taxi and climbed his way up to the rooftop, he found that one of his students, Leorio Paradinight, had already treated some of the temp's wounds that were visible to the normal eye. While the virus hunter believed what Leorio did was jarring and idiotic, Casper was impressed by the teenager's assertiveness which was something that he not he believed that a doctor needed, but something that he believed that Cider needed to cope with her past shortcomings. Though allowing Leorio to work with Cider approved some of the latter's character, he could tell that she's stagnating when it comes to bonding.

'Seeing that she's been interacting with Leorio and Mika, maybe this is a sign of improvement.' He thought as he chewed on another citrusy slice. 'Though there's always a case of relapsing to negative behavior.' He told himself, and swallowed.

"Now that I think about it," Casper drifted as he popped an orange in his mouth. "You're quite lucky that I came to that building and all I had to do was fix up your broken ribs. Whether the person is from Shiao mafia or some rogue hunter, that person is not something you should not mess around with. One more attack from them, you would've suffered from internal bleeding or had your jugular vein cut open, but thankfully Leorio and Mika prevented this." He explained and popped a slice of orange in his mouth. "Though I would have preferred that Mika didn't use her ability erratically to point of getting a massive nosebleed and have Leorio study. Nevertheless, it's good that Leorio came to you in the nick of time and Mika had enough energy to use her, Five Times The Fun." He explained lightly and a small chuckle escaped from his lips.

"Hehe, but man you should have seen Autumns in his office with Hiroko. It's been a while since I saw him that infuriated." The fifty five year old stated with a laugh.

"...Y-yeah." Cider replied sheepishly as she ate her orange. "But to be honest, I feel guilty of getting Hiroko's paycheck cut in half by Autumns." She said with a small frown.

"Seeing that he had ties with Shiao Mafia, Hiroko is quite lucky of not being reported to the association by him." Casper retorted, "Autumns maybe a hard ass to all temps in his agency, but he means well, and believes in second chances which is the reason why you're still working." He stated, and took notice of Cider's scrunched up smile. He glanced at her lightly, "What happened to you and the others before, it's in the past and there's no need to blame yourself. Maybe going to back Yorknew would help you forget things or in this case, replace the old memories with new ones." He told her sternly and she hesitantly nodded to his words.

"Right." She agreed weakly, and remembered Clara's encouraging words.

_"Well whatever is that you need to do in Yorknew, go forth."_

"I just have to keep going forward." She told herself and smiled fondly as she ate another slice of orange. "I'm going to miss having my lunch breaks with Ms. Fouette, she knew what kind of teas go best with food." Cider said kindly, and Casper nodded softly.

"Yeah, that old crone knew her stuff." He replied quietly, and as he sipped his tea, he closed his eyes.

When Casper heard of Clara's passing, he was devastated, but he continued with his duties as a professor and a doctor. When the flattop haired doctor came to the small memorial service that was held for her, he noticed that there was a good amount of hunters and civilians that wanted to pay their respects to her. While it was nice that many went to the viewing and being surrounded with comforting words, Casper felt that there was so many things left unsaid and feelings that were still unrequited. Deep down, he regretted the fact that he never was able to kindle the librarian's heart with his feelings. As Casper looked back at his memories, he fondly remembered some words from his bibliomaniac patient that were forever engraved onto his brain.

_"Hey doc, if I do die, you better not gloom around your patients or I'll haunt you!"_

'I won't, you crone.' He told himself silently, and gagged at his drink. "I can't believe she likes drinking this stuff." Casper snapped and eat another orange to get the taste out of his mouth. "Anyway, back to talking about Leorio and my god-daughter, Mika." He quickly changed the subject to brighten up the sentimental mood, "Dear lord you and Paradinight almost gave me a heart attack when I found you two on the rooftop. Then again, I can somewhat understand you two are young and have urges, but it doesn't mean that you have to rip each other's clothes and-"

"I-I hate to interrupt you, Casper sir, but I thought we agreed to not speak about what happened, and I already told you the reason our clothes were ripped up was because of Shiao's men." Cider stated nervously with an awkward smile, and almost choked on her tea. "Wait, Mika's your goddaughter!?"

"Oh right, I never told you about that." The doctor in his fifties stated with a hearty laugh and took another sip of tea. "Hopefully that convince you into doing this favor for me and Autumns." He placed his paper cup onto the table and stared at the now nervous temp hunter.

"Cider Meiming, are you willing to be Mika's mentor?"

* * *

The past is in the past, and we must move on. Here begins a new journey, now imbalanced with wonder...

**Opening (chaps 13-?)**: Taiyou Wa Yoru Mo Kagayaku by Wino

**Ending (chaps 13-?)**: Can't Say Goodbye to Yesterday (Piano Ver.) by Rika Muranaka


	12. City Lights

Hey there everyone, I hope you guys had a nice Thanksgiving and Christmas, and I'm deeply sorry for these random (and extremely slow) bursts of updates. Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy this little treat/gift!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Hunter x Hunter, artwork used for the covers, references, or any songs that will be used in the story.

**Notes/Reminders: **Rain chapters were merged into one single chapter. Since the number 13 plays somewhat a big part for the Yorknew Arc, I wanted to make the first chapter of the Yorknew Arc as the thirteenth chapter of the story. Will something happen in this chapter? Who knows. Also if you spot out any nen errors or what nows, please tell me, and I'll edit it!

*Some fancy airlines have showers installed. For references to what kind of plane the group is riding on, search up Emirates.

**Review Responses:**

**To Renko the Ghost: **I also prefer of sometimes breaking away from using Hisoka's nen personality theory, since he did state that his theory isn't always 100% accurate. However, most of the time (or sometimes, depending if the reader can spot it) I do use some aspects of his theory for the OCs (ex. Cider=Enhancer, Mika=Manipulator, and Casper=Transmuter) that appear in this story. Also, for the hiatus thing, I just got into Hunter x Hunter last year, and I was a bit surprised of how many times the series went on hiatus. It's just like the manga, Berserk, except Gon isn't on a long boat trip like Guts (he finally got off!). And yup, Leorio is making Cider feel some type of way lol, what feeling is it? You'll find out.

**To Nysis:** Thank you for the review, and yes, it's unfortunate that Clara passed away. It would be nice to see her having tea with the four or stick around if Gon ever visits Waldhalle, but sadly it's not gonna happen. On the bright-side, she's not fully out of the picture yet. For Cider's diagnosis, you'll find out about it in this chapter lol.

**To Fan with no acc: **Thank you so much for the review, and I'm really happy that you enjoy the small bits of comedy from the story. Regarding about the rating, the real reason the rating might go up is for adult/sexual themes between Cider and Leorio (which will vary from vanilla smut, to fluff, to raunchy comedy), but that's not going to happen anytime soon or the rating may never rise up lol.

Songs: Title of the chapter: City Life by Ashtraynutz (the Moods Remix is pretty good too!)

-Thank you for choosing Yorknew Airlines: Moonlight Ginga by SoutaiseiRiron

-A bit of a bubbly memory: Only One Warmth from the Texhnolyze: Man of Men OST

-Downtime for the three: Wasurete Ita Fuukei from the Hunter x Hunter 1999 OST

-Sharing small bits to a med student: Candle by Masafumi Komatsu

-Fly on the wings of the wind: The Place In Which I Am by Sayuri Komi

* * *

_"Hell yeah, I do! Once I master my hatsu, I'll be out in the city, gaining stars and getting all the hunnies because I'm that good!"_

_"With that attitude of yours, you're lucky enough to get sweet rolls from old ladies."_

_"H-hey!"_

_"Don't worry, I'm positive that you'll be covered in not only sweet rolls, but lovely women as well!"_

_"My god, don't encourage him Cider."_

_"Whatever...Looking forward to working with the group, you Kharon, and ya too, Bubbles."_

'''''''

**"Earth to Cider."**

"Hm?"

Awakening from her light slumber, Cider fluttered her eyes open, and smiled dumbly by the sound of someone's pleasant voice. However, her smile completely vanished, and when she found herself being stared by two familiar people, she a led out a small frightened gasp. The two people were none other than an unenthusiastic Mika, and Leorio who was thrilled by the fact they were flying on a top notch plane. Because the two had hunter licenses and Mika having a dad that would spoil her, the three were literally flying in style. The plane almost had everything to keep a rich businessman or a hunter pampered and well-rested for their trip. Every passenger had their own cabin which looks like a miniature version of a pleasant hotel room. While Leorio was enthralled of being in first class, Mika was not impressed by it, and Cider was too preoccupied with her own dilemmas.

She got out of her cabin with an awkward smile to mask away her nervousness from the two. 'I shouldn't have asked Casper about why my chest feels funny.' Cider lamented and groaned at her mistake.

As she groaned, she remembered vividly of yesterday's chat in the Virus Hunter's clinic, and all the things that Casper told her. One the things that they talked about surprisingly got into her skin or in this case, her heart, and it was the doctor's diagnosis of her symptoms. Recently, Cider would always found herself feeling giddy, her heart racing, and her cheeks flushed red. But after the events that happened on the rooftop of the Hohespitzen building, the symptoms worsened. _"It feels like my heart is bouncing all over the place..."_ She remembered what she told to Casper, and almost heard his laughter in her head. When he heard of her symptoms, all he could do was laugh heartily and gave his patient, a friendly lecture of what she's feeling.

_"Flushed cheeks, nervousness, and tight sensations in your chest? What you're experiencing is the just common case of puppy love. It's normal for young people like yourself to have a crush on someone, and don't worry, those feelings will fade eventually. But do tell me... **whose the lucky guy that's making you feel like a love-struck high school girl**? Hahahaha! I'm just joking with you, you don't need to tell me!"_

'Forgive me Casper, I would tell you, but that would make things too complicated for me, and it's my fault for wanting him to be my medic.' She thought to herself shamefully and took a brief glance at Leorio, who was eyeing at a steward that smiled flirtatiously at him. 'I have to remain professional, both of us are hunters that are working together, and we're nothing but friends.' She thought to herself, and grumbled mentally. 'B-besides, getting into a relationship with your junior just sounds like those soap operas or those josei comics!' She shouted at herself, and took another glance at her junior doctor. Suddenly, Leorio turned his direction to her and seeing the guy's grin made her heart feel like it was a ball in a pinball machine. Not wanting to him to see her sudden giddiness, Cider masked it away with a composed yet scrunched up expression.

"You feeling ok, Cider?" The doctor asked her, and she gave a nod.

"That's good." Leorio yawned out with a grin, "Welp, I'm gonna freshen myself in the *shower. So don't go anywhere you two." He said the last sentence jokingly and secretly grabbed a magazine that had a bunny eared lady on it in his cabin.

"Uh yeah, see you in a bit Leorio." Cider answered and turned her attention to Mika, whose face was masked with an old issue of Pink Muscles Brauds. The cover of the magazine had a studly looking man with a stethoscope on front and had the title, "Dr. Mcbuffy Edition".

"O-oh my." Cider thought out loud, and couldn't the resist the urge to ogle at the cover.

"Hm?" The seventeen year old emitted with an unconcerned expression and moved her eyes away from her magazine. Seeing and hearing the twenty year old's reaction to the magazine, Mika blinked a few times, and finally decided to let the young woman borrow her magazine. Something about the temp's contorted yet hilarious face told the haughty teen that the former needed it more than her.

"If you want, you can look at it" Mika offered one of her beefcake magazines to Cider, whose face was turning beet red. "It's an old issue, and to be honest with you, doctors aren't my thing." She explained, but Cider declined by gingerly pushing the magazine to Mika. As the temp placed her hand on the magazine, one of Mika's nano machines was stealthily crawling up to the woman's right earlobe.

'I wonder if she can sense my pox?' Mika thought curiously as she recollected the day that she pranked Cider and Leorio. 'Well that gorilla did call me out on using my ability at that hot pot place, but I highly doubt that he knows how to use zetsu or any of the advanced nen techniques to sense it or find it.' She told herself, and snapped out of her trance as she heard Cider's soft-spoken voice.

"I'm sorry Mika, I would accept the offer, but I can't really read things on an airplane without getting airsick." Cider apologized politely, and got herself comfortable in her seat. "O-oh, and I almost forgot." She muttered out, and pinched her right earlobe. "I didn't have a chance to thank you for helping Leorio out on that day," She said through the girl's mind, and smiled reassuringly to a now shocked Mika. "Also, I apologize for worrying you two, and making you use your ability to find me. Mr. Casper had told me a few things about your abilities, and I have to say, it must be vexing to manipulate your nen into something that works like a codec. Though I'm very impressed and a little envious that you created something like that by via manipulation." She told the teenager in an astonished tone.

Hearing praise from the awkward adult, Mika fiddled with her glasses, and huffily went back to her seat which was on the left side of Cider's cabin. Then she pressed her earlobe to talk to the temp, "Why thank you, and I don't find it hard at all in using Five Times The Fun! When I was raised by my father, he hired a bunch of teachers that not only taught me to be a successful and well-educated lady, but also conditioned me to shape my hatsu into something useful for my future." Mika praised herself, and masked her embarrassment with a snobbish look. "My father is very proud of my ability, and surely your father is proud of your successes as a temp hunter!" She stated haughtily, and watched as the temp giggled softly at her statement.

Cider pinched her earlobe to deactivate the nano machine. "I will agree that you're dad is very proud of you, and that's really sweet of him to do those things for you." Cider responded out with a light smile, and then she softly glanced at her cabin's window. "Wow it's really nice outside, even now, it still surprises me that it's very cloudy out there. It makes you kind of wonder if the people who went up into the clouds can see you from here, and down on earth." She said gently to the teen, and kindly remembered the family photo in her apartment.

When Mika heard the temp's response, she slowly realize that she may have went overboard with her snobbery. 'The thing that she just said, does she mean that her father is...Mika you idiot! Can't you be considerate of others' feelings for just once!? Wait, you can't because you were never taught to be like that...'

Due to being taught by adults and home-schooled for the majority of her childhood, the seventeen year old had issues with talking to her younger peers. While the teachers may have taught her to be a well-educated lady, they never taught her the most important building block of life; interaction. This small slip up resulted into making the girl rely on a veil of haughtiness and superiority as a defense mechanism. From what she could faintly remember, it all started with her first play-date with a bunch of kids that her dad set up with his colleagues. That play-date was a failure, and while her dad reattempted to help her daughter socialize through play dates with other well-adjusted children or place her in the care of young adult hunters, they were strongly convinced that the young girl was nothing but a Ms. Know-it-all, and a spoiled shrew. Although Mika doesn't show it to her dad or her god-father, the seventeen year old acknowledged that she had a habit of being snooty. However, Mika knew those mannerisms was her security blanket that not only works as a shield, but also a way to hide her imperfections from others.

Although her facade pushed away a majority of people, a small set of people were still tied with her. Aside from her ever-dotting dad and her noncritical godfather, Mika's current care-takers still remained by her side, and that shocked a lot of the temps from her dad's agency. Ever since the first day she met the blue haired temp and the med student, Mika grew an interest to befriend the two. From her perspective, they were fascinating subjects to mess with, but one was slightly more interesting than the other, and it was because of her unwavering gentleness.

Mika grumbled to herself, 'I think I made her mad...Then again, it's my fault in believing that she's nice 24/7 and nothing can faze her. Heh, I bet that I'm not the only one who saw her angry. I have a feeling that Leorio had pushed her buttons before, and that's why he acts friendly around her to not piss her off. I should apologize or this trip is going to suck for all of us, I mean, how hard is it to say sorry?' Mika thought as she masked away her regrets and fear by flicking her glasses. Apologizing was easier said than done, and Mika struggled to open her mouth, "Uhm..._I..._sorry for being pig-headed... I didn't that your dad had...well you know." She murmured out hesitantly, and awaited to be scorn by the blue haired woman.

"Hm?" The sudden apology caught Cider off guard, and gasped in disbelief. "O-oh! No no, you don't need to apologize! It's my fault for blubbering about the sky like an idiot." Cider interrupted and reassure the young girl with a smile. "And it's also my fault for not telling you or Leorio about it..."

"Tell me what exactly, Cider?" A familiar voice cut Cider off, and it was none other than Leorio, who came back from a long shower. He led out a satisfied smile, "Ahhh~ I feel energized! This is truly the perks of being a hunter!" He shouted joyfully, and as he stretched his arms overhead of his cabin to drop his belongings onto his chair. "So what were you two talking about when I was away?" He asked curiously.

As he waited for a response from Cider, Mika glanced at her and saw that the temp was rubbing the back of her head nervously. Seeing that her caretaker is taking too long to answer, the seventeen year old intervened in her kindness way. "I wanted the bimbo to tell me about the things that we'll be doing at Yorknew, but she didn't want to say anything until you came back from your shower, gorilla." She explained to the nineteen year old, and beckoned the blue haired woman to agree.

'Argh, again with those names!' Leorio gritted his teeth as Mika stuck out her tongue at him. "Why you little-" He cursed under his breath, but suddenly heard a squeak from his work partner.

"U-uh yes, Mika's right!" Cider said with a swift node, and widely stared at the two. This is it, this was the moment where she would tell the two about '_everything_'. Everything that was related to her time in Yorknew, and why she accepted to help out a sadistic clown.

"Since you're all here, I'll...I'll start..." Cider mumbled out with a scrunched up smile which masked away her uneasiness. As she tried to say something about herself, she felt something crawling all over her body, and began to grit her teeth. 'Don't be scared Cider, you know these two well enough to say something about yourself, whether it's personal or something shocking! J-just tell them why you took the job...That's what comrades do right?...Right?' She encouraged herself, but quickly admitted defeat. 'No you can't do it, because you're bad at this...you're bad at everything...and you're still a horrible temp.'

"Reason...Itookthejob, because I!" She garbled out hesitantly, and instead of looking at either of the two teenagers, she glanced at the television screen in her cabin. It was almost dinner time, and as she continued with jumbled up explanation, she heard an obnoxious yawn coming from Leorio, who had stretched out his legs.

Then the nineteen year old sat himself back into his seat that was a few inches beside Ciders'. Adjusting to his seat, he saw that his senior was exhibiting signs of anxiety. Then he remembered something from a medical book that he read ages ago. For a majority of people, it's easy for them to talk a little about themselves, but for a good minority, it's a big challenge. Just from looking at her mannerisms, the rookie doctor could tell that she's trying her best to say something to him and Mika, but it looks like it's taking quite a lot out of her. However, his gut was telling him that she needed some time to gain back her normal composure to fully give out an answer to him.

Without hesitating, Leorio finally snapped Cider out of her funk by giving her a stern pat on the back. "Hey, how about we talk about these things after we get some grub? Can't really focus without nutrition y'know?" Leorio stated calmly with a wide grin, indicating he was excited about dinner.

Cider's lips formed into a weird yet genuine smile, "T-that's true." Cider agreed, and hid her anxiety from the two with her contorted smile. 'I really am bad at smiling...Correction, I'm really bad at everything, but I wasn't like this before.' Her voice echoed in her mind, and mentally sank herself in her woes. Sinking further into her regrets, she then suddenly remembered her temp days in Yorknew, and it made her feel sentimental. Then she heard her comrade's smooth voice echoing in her head, which caused her to slowly indulged herself into her memories.

_"Hey don't sweat over those type of things, Bubbles [...] You'll get through this."_

Those old yet encouraging words made Cider smile softly, and she continued to recall her first years as a temp. While she was awkward and overly polite back then, she was quite chipper, and she didn't have any qualms to talking to others. Aside from the rigorous training for two years, for both nen and meeting temp hunter requirements, the blue haired twenty year old would admit in her bumbling way that she enjoyed the process. The process was difficult, but she got through it, and always tried her best. Granted she almost didn't make the cut of being a temp hunter, but when she got the 'OK', Cider believed that day was her lucky day.

Her comrade's words echoed in her head once more, and she continued to smile faintly. 'Pietre's right, I'll get through this.' She told herself, and locked away those pleasant memories in her brain for another time.

Snapping out of her trance, Cider gave her attention to Leorio and Mika, who were bickering which sauce goes great with steak. When a small giggled emitted from her lips, Cider was then dragged into the heated debate of grilled filet mignon.

"Cider back me up on this one, the best sauce for steak is Worchester Sauce." Leorio stated in a serious tone.

"The gorilla has plebeian taste, Cider. Tell him that the best sauce for steak is béarnaise sauce." Mika declared haughtily, and both teenagers glared daggers at each other.

After hearing their statements, the temp twiddled her fingers, and thought over her answer. "Uhm, I hate to be a downer, but I prefer eating my steak plain." She answered in an honest tone. "I think the chefs already marinated, seasoned, and added the sauce on the steak, and I think the they would want you to taste the steak plain first before you put anything else on it." Cider said calmly, but quickly braced herself for the two's reaction.

"Fair enough, but I was hoping that you'll agree with me." Mika said with a disappointed shrug. "Then again, your method is right when it comes to dining, but I barely do that in restaurants because after eating some badly cooked steaks, I always put sauce on mine."

"Sorry to hear that Mika," Leorio replied, and Cider nodded agreeingly. Then the bespectacled teen's eyes widened up, "Hey, that reminds me of that time I met Cider at that stuff toy cafe. Expensive, but the steak there is great, and I didn't have to pay for it!" He smiled towards Cider, and she led out a surprised gasp.

"O-oh I remember that day! It was right after I cleaned up the library, and I wanted something to eat before ballet practice." Cider proclaimed with a less contorted and natural smile. As three awaited for their dinners, Cider continued with retelling the day she met Leorio, and sometimes the latter would chip into the story. At first, it was slightly embarrassing to talk about her past mistakes, but just like reminiscing about her old memories; Cider did in fact enjoy talking a little about it. It's been so long since she talked about something like this, and the fact that she was traveling with others was a nice change of pace for her, who usually traveled alone in business trips.

* * *

Half an hour had passed, and dinner was served in the airplane. The food was top notch, and it would make any gourmet hunter squeal in delight. While the other passengers enjoyed their food with others or enjoyed it quietly, the three continued their story telling during dinner. While the three refrained themselves from being to rowdy, Cider and Leorio couldn't restrain themselves from bursting into laughter while Mika, tried to mask it by eating or sipping her cola. As she enjoyed her meal, the seventeen year old observed the two who were telling another set of stories.

'I've had conversations during dinner before, but they're not as _entertaining_ like this one.' Mika thought to herself, and remembered the days that she spent dinner alone. Then she snapped out of her trance, and listened to Leorio's story about the hunter exam he participated in. She continued to watch the two, and took notice of Cider's giddiness around the nineteen year old. 'Hmm...I wonder if she likes him?' She asked herself.

"Thankfully, my friends and myself made it to the next round, but my face still hurts from that clown's punch. Argh, I was so close to knocking out that bozo with a tree branch. Oh c'mon Cider, it wasn't that funny...okay maybe it is hahaha." Leorio chuckled with a grin while rubbing his jaw. "But it's not as funny the day you offered your panties to that creepo at the Rosa Entertainment Company building. Remember that job?" He asked curiously, and watched as Cider almost choked on her drink.

Cider coughed a bit, "O-ooh don't remind me!" She told Leorio with flushed cheeks, "I didn't really want to hurt the guy, so I told him to turn himself in, and in return I'll give him my underwear. Then he got really creepy, so I smacked him with a bubble, and you came along with an ugly vase and slammed it on one of the goons' heads. The CEO was so mad, not because they almost stole all the films, but the fact his priceless vase was broken. You should have saw Mr. Autumns face when I told him that, his face was so red and sweaty, his toupee almost slid off his head." Cider explained with a smile, but quickly refrained herself from talking more about her boss. "A-ah, I apologize Mika." She stated sincerely, "I'll refrain myself of talking about your dad in an ill man-"

The strawberry blonde giggled a bit, which shocked the two, and both wondered if this is bad or actually a good sign. "My father doesn't really talk much about himself or his work, so I don't mind hearing stories about him." She replied with a small smile, which quickly vanished and was replaced with her regular dead-pan look. "D-don't tell him that, Bimbo, and you too, Gorilla!" She ordered the two huffily.

"Understood." Cider agreed with a nervous smile.

"Sure, sure." Leorio agreed as well, while brushing away his nervousness with a grin. Then he changed the subject, "Since we don't have anything to do until second of August, what should we do in Yorknew?" Leorio asked curiously, and suddenly the light bulb in his head shined brightly. "Cider, you use to live there right? How about giving me and princess over here a tour of the city?" He asked cheerfully.

"Haha, you read my mind." Cider responded lightly, "I was thinking of giving you two a tour of the city, and maybe...we can." She looked at the floor shyly.

"We can what?" The nineteen year old said peculiarly, and waited for the twenty year old to finish her sentence.

Mika stared with awe and continued to sip her coke through a straw, 'This is...getting somewhere. Is she going ask him on a date?'

Leorio wondered what his senior is going to say to him, 'We can what? Go to the movies? Go to the Empire Kong Building? Go to a bar? Nah, those things sound way to romantic for her to say! Even if she did, it'll just be a buddy outing, and she's not my type...' He thought sternly, but his strictness was replaced with wonderment. 'I am a bit curious to what she's trying to say to me though...'

The two teens inched themselves closer to Cider, and waited for her answer. "This is a little selfish, but maybe we can..." The temp's lips formed into a smile, and shouted out her answer, "Go clothes shopping!"

After hearing Cider's reply, Leorio rubbed his head confusingly, and Mika tried to remain composed, but was slightly coughing from choking on her soda. Of all things the twenty year old wanted to do in Yorknew, she wanted to do some clothes shopping? Slowly digesting not only the food, but also the girl's reply, Leorio glanced at Cider's outfit. "Come to think of it...You do seem to have a liking to fashion, so I can see why you want to go shopping." Leorio chirped, and watched as Cider rubbed her head with an awkward chuckle.

"Like my mom and my brothers told me; Gotta be presentable. I think that's the saying..." She led out a nervous chuckle, and her expression softened. "Though I will admit, I do have a weakness to the latest clothes, accessories, and make-up. If you saw my closet; you would be shocked, but I'll refrain myself from telling you that horror story." She explained kindly, and smiled back at Leorio, who looked like he was enjoying the long flight to the city.

"Well if we're going to be in Yorknew for a month, we gotta look our best, and Gorilla needs to do some clothes hunting!" Mika butted in a fake superciliously manner, and pointed her finger at a slightly annoyed Leorio.

"What's wrong with my clothes!?" He fumed, but calmed himself down a bit. "For your information Mika, I always look my best, and I look great in suits. Girls can't resist guys in suits." The nineteen year old boy declared out proudly.

"Yeah, if you're doing their taxes." The nineteen year old blurted out with a shrug. "Yorknew is one of the top places for the latest clothes, and suits don't always cut it! Once we get hit the airport, we're going straight to the malls, and you better buy some decent clothes! Or get Cider to help you." She finished lightly.

"H-huh, m-me?"

* * *

Few hours had passed, and most of the passengers including Mika were fast asleep in their cabins. A few passengers were still awake at this hour, and one of them wandered over to the bar area for a small dose of liquid courage. Taking a few sips of her fruity cocktail, Cider sat alone on one of the cushion benches near the small bar. As took another sip of her drink, Cider smiled to herself, and told herself that today was a good day for her. Then a slight frown replaced her smile, and she lowered her head sadly.

'I told them about things about my past, but I barely talked about why I have to go to Yorknew. Ah, I think overdid it...Maybe today is really a bad day.' She thought wistfully, and suddenly saw someone sitting beside her with a drink. It was none other than Leorio, who made the temp's heart flutter a bit.

He took a sip of his non-alcoholic tomato juice cocktail, "Drinks aren't as great as that Oktober bar in Waldhalle, and the place is not as lively as Oktober either." Leorio muttered out to break the silence.

"Mhm, but at least it's decent." Cider pitched in, and took another sip of her drink. "You know...that bar in Waldhalle was actually recommended to me by a Hunter that I use to work with in Yorknew." She said quietly, which grabbed the nineteen year old's attention. "He passed away recently, but I do remember that he had a son and that son had a kid." She drifted off with a softened expression.

The nineteen year old adjusted his glasses a bit, and watched as Cider quietly drank her cocktail once more. It was interesting to see the temp opening herself up a bit, but he wondered if it had something to do with the alcohol. Then a surprising theory formed in his head, if the alcohol was calming her nerves a bit, maybe this would be a good time for to tell him about why she took Hisoka's offer, and getting to know a little more about her.

He took another sip of his tomato drink, "Ikaros was his name right?" Leorio quizzed lightly, and she nodded her head. "He sounds like a good man...were you close?" He asked, and Cider slightly shook her head.

"Not exactly..." She answered with a sincere look, "When I was stationed in Yorknew, I was hired by a contract hunter, Kharon Stycs, who hired other hunters alongside temps to assist him. During that time, everyone got to know each other, and almost everyone got along with one another. I wasn't truly close to Ikaros, but...P-Pietre was." She hesitated a bit, and took another sip of her drink. As her heart started to race, Cider took a deep breath, and closed eyes tightly. It was now or never; she has to tell Leorio her intentions of going to Yorknew. Whether it's because she had a crush on him or because she promised to tell him, those two things didn't mattered right now, what really mattered is, she wanted to tell him because he was a good friend to her.

"The reason why I took that clown's offer is because I want to find my old comrade, Pietre." She answered while trying to remain calm. "The first and last job that I ever did in Yorknew was a big failure, and a lot of good hunters didn't make it on that day. Pietre was the cause of it, and he was claimed to be dead and a traitor. He was considered to be killed by the Shiao Mafia, but because of those photos that Hisoka sent me, he's alive and breathing, but he's working with that gang." She confided with a relieved yet disappointed expression.

Finally hearing the temp's reason, Leorio laid his back on the wall, and slowly took in her answer. Going to Yorknew was going to be very eventful for the next two months, but he somewhat feared that something bad might happen in those months. Not only he has a meet up with his friends, but also had to help his friend who a major loose end to attend to, and it had something to do an auction being held on September. Then a scary thought appeared in the med student's mind, and without hesitating, he brought up the question to Cider.

"When you find this Pietre guy, what are you going to do with him?" Leorio asked concernedly.

Cider's widened her eyes a bit, and she gazed blankly at her empty glass, "I don't really know exactly, but what I know is that I want to talk to him again." She answered simply, and gasped. "O-oh where are my manners, I told you all this, but I didn't tell Mika anything yet. Stupid me!" She berated herself shamefully.

"You can just tell her tomorrow at the hotel," Leorio responded, but pinched his earlobe lightly. "Though I'm pretty sure she heard everything just now."

"Ah I see," She sighed in relief and gazed at her glass, "This juice is way too sweet." She declared in disgust.

'I was wrong...it wasn't the alcohol that's helping her, she just told me.' He thought to himself, and smiled. "You should've just went for the vegetable juice cocktail, it tastes like cold soup."

"You mean, gazpacho?" She chimed in lightly.

"Ahahaha, so that's what it's called. I keep forgetting that name, but I know that's Bambi-chan's favorite food." The doctor stated with a cheesy smile, and Cider tilted her head with a sincere smile.

'It's good that he has a crush on someone like Ms. Bambi.' She told herself, and remembered what Casper told her. 'Leorio is my fellow hunter, and a friend who deserves to be happy with someone that's perfect. Like I said before, I'll remain professional, and I'll do my best to be a good friend to him.' She declared this in her mind determinedly, and felt small yet sharp pain in her chest, but thankfully, she ignored it.

"You should definitely buy her a souvenir when you come back." Cider responded kindly, "I know a good place that sells neck scarves that I'm sure she'll like."

The pair continued their exchange of words and laughs, while they didn't say it fully, the two believed it was a nice way to end the day.

* * *

Many hours later, the airplane finally landed in Yorknew's FKJ airport, and as everyone got off the plain, the three were talking to a group of sky hops that were handling their luggage. While the other sky hops were being scolded by Mika, Cider talked to the leader of the group with a nervous smile. "Thank you so much for taking our luggage to the hotel," Cider told one of the sky hops politely, and gave them a tip.

"No sweat, Miss." The sky hop said earnestly. "Your luggage will be handled with care, and will be delivered at your rooms in Hotel Beitacle." The sky hop explained, and both him and his group departed off to drop off the group's luggage to the hotel.

Once the sky hops left the airport, Mika led out a stretch, and smiled. "Now that's out of the way, let's go shopping!" She shouted cheerfully.

"You two go and call out a taxi, I'm going to one of the shops and see if they're selling that perfume I'm looking for." Cider said to the two, and went off to one of the small shops in the lobby area of the airport.

Arriving at the small gift shop, Cider quietly observed the shelves of expensive perfumes, and as tip toed to reach over a box of perfume, she saw someone dropping a box of cologne onto the ground. Crouching over to reach it, someone accidentally placed their hands over hers, and she looked up to see who it was. The person in front of her was a man wearing an extravagant headdress, and wearing a silk long sleeved tunic. From the looks of his headdress, something told the temp that he has some rather expensive tastes, but from looking at his expression, he looked rather intimidating.

She handed the man the box of cologne, "Here you go." She said lightly to him, and he grabbed the box from her hand.

"Thanks..." He muttered out gruffly.

* * *

That's the end of this chapter, and since the year is ending, I have a few words to say. I would like to say thank you guys for sticking around and enjoying this story so far. Happy New Year, and let's always do our best!


	13. Sweet, yet Dangerous Scent

Hey there everyone, sorry about the sudden disappearance, and not updating as much as I hoped to do this year. Classes and other real life obligations got me weighed down a bit, but thankfully some of the weight has been temporarily lifted, and you know what that means, some chapter updates (also getting hyped for Hunter x Hunter's latest chapters)! So without further ado, here's the long awaited chapter of WxB, and have a good day, readers!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Hunter x Hunter, artwork used for the covers, references, or any songs that will be used in the story.

Song that inspired the Chapter's Title: Amaku Kiken na Kaori by Tatsuro Yamashita

-Chou a la Creme by Honoka Sakai

-Daily Life from the Persona 3 Movie OST

-Mori No Kodou Kabe No Syougeki by Ko Otani (from the Haibane Renmei Omake OST)

* * *

In the airport's gift shop, Cider browsed through the aisles of pricey cologne and perfumes. As she scoped through the assorted of colorful boxes and bottles, she suddenly heard a small thud onto the ground, and saw that someone had dropped a bronze colored box of cologne. Crouching over to grab it off the ground, someone suddenly placed their hand on top of hers. Looking up, she found herself looking at an intimidating man around his late 20s, and his outfit consisted of an intricate robe and an expensive headdress that was encrusted with gold and gems.

Not wanting to waste him time, Cider pulled her hand away, and handed the man his box of cologne. "Here you go." She said lightly, and masked her anxiety with a faint smile.

Without hesitation, the helmet wearing man swiped the box from her hands, and muttered out a gruff "thank you" to her. Few moments later, Cider went back to looking at fragrances, and not before long, she found the perfume that she was looking for. In her hand was a plain medium sized box that was tinted pink, and had white little circles imprinted onto the box. Though it was not as extravagant like the other perfumes, this was the perfume that Cider would spoil herself with.

"Does this cologne smell nice?" A familiar gruff voice asked out of the blue, which started Cider.

Cider turned her body around, "U-uh pardon?" She answered nervously, and found herself staring at the same man that was wearing an expensive looking headdress.

"I asked you if this cologne smells nice?" The gruff man repeated sternly, which made the girl cringed slightly.

In the man's hand was the same box that he dropped earlier, and on the box depicted an elegant woman that had a snake resting on her shoulders. Something about the box sparked the girl's mind, and after a minute of thinking, she understood why that cologne looked so familiar. It was the same cologne that her co-worker/senior, Hiroko, wore at the Temp Agency, which many of his female co-workers had mentioned of his cologne being too strong in an elevator. Although she doesn't fully say it, Cider agreed that the cologne's scent was incredibly strong, and not even a heavy storm could mask the smell.

"That scent is too strong and peppery, and I have a feeling that even Yorknew's downpour can't mask it." Cider answered his question and lightly berated herself.

"I see...Well, that's lousy." The gruff man replied, and went back to browsing for colognes.

Once the guy went back to looking at the shelves of fragrances, Cider slowly headed over to the cashier, but she decided to take another glance at the silk robed man. From looking at his expression, he didn't look to thrilled about the selection of colognes in front of him, and something about the air around him was making the workers in the gift shop extremely nervous.

"U-uhm..." Cider mumbled out to the impatient looking man. "D-did you need any help with looking for a cologne?" She offered politely to him, but her words came out jumbled.

"Huh?!" The robed man huffed out gruffly, and turned his attention to the blue haired girl, whose body jerked from his rough response.

'You got to speak up idiot, just think of this guy as your senior or a co-worker.' Cider told herself, and led out a cough. "I asked if you need any help with looking for a cologne? Since you were asked me if one of those colognes smelled good earlier." She explained calmly, and watched as the man scratched his cheek.

"...Sure." He answered lightly, "Just hurry up and pick something for me." He explained harshly to her, and she nodded her head.

"Understood." She agreed, and looked through the assorted colognes with him. After ten minutes of having a heated debate about different brands of fragrances with the man and wasting small strips of paper to smell different fragrances, the silk robed man finally picked out a cologne for himself. The cologne he chosen was a golden colored box, and had a Sphinx imprinted onto the card, which ironically fit well with the man's clothing. When that was done, Cider went over to the cashier to pay for her purchase, and before she paid full price for her perfume, she took notice of a 30% off for two or more items sign on the counter. The light bulb in her head lit up, and she went back to the robed man who looked like he was about to deck some spiky haired guy in a gray suit who passed him.

"You little punk." The robed man spat out sharply toward the suited stranger.

'This is not good, and I really don't think an airport really needs to be on the news right now. Not to mention, the association would probably swamp me with sorting out paper work for the police department because of this!' Cider thought heavily, and felt like her dreams of shopping in Yorknew's mall would be crushed. Not wanting that to happen, Cider broke the tension between the two men.

"Hi," She muttered out, and the robed man quickly turned his attention to her with a slight glare. "I'm sorry if I'm bothering you again, but is it alright that if we combine our purchases together? I actually save more if I buy another box of perfume, but one type of perfume is enough for me. Oh, and you also don't need to pay me back." Cider told the hotheaded man of her offer, which may have or may not have caught his guard off.

The robed man looked overhead to see that the gray suited man had dashed out of the gift shop, and he glared at the girl that had interrupted him. "Aren't you being too nice to a stranger? If you keep this up, _someone_ is going to take advantage of you." He harshly chided her for kindness, but saw that the girl wasn't going to back down from a perfume sale anytime soon. Not wanting cause a ruckus, the man caved in and handed her the golden box of cologne to complete her purchase. As the two walked out of the small gift shop, the blue haired girl handed him his cologne, and smiled lightly at him.

"W-well that's that." Cider stated in her regular awkward tone, and after a minute of silence, she felt her anxiety rising. "A-ah, like I said before; you don't need to pay me back for the cologne. So uhm...bye and have a nice day!" She mumbled out to the man with a polite bow and then she headed over to the airport's entrance in a quick manner. 'That was dangerous, but at least I didn't need to pay for full price, and the guy can have his cologne for free.' Cider told herself reassuringly, and as she exited out of the airport, she noticed that Leorio and Mika were already in a taxi, indicating that the temp hunter took a long time at the gift shop.

"Get in already!" The nineteen year old medic student shouted out of the taxi's window, "The meter is running!" He stated loudly, and Cider dashed over to the taxi.

* * *

On their way to the shopping boutiques of Yorknew, Cider and Leorio sat together in the back while Mika sat in the front seat, near the driver who was paying attention to the road. As the taxi drove through the busy streets of the city, Mika pulled out her Smartphone, and took a few pictures of the moving scenery. As she took pictures with her phone, Mika carefully gazed at the taxi's rear-view mirror, and watched as the two hunters converse with each other.

"What took you so long in the gift shop?" The spiky haired teen asked his senior curiously.

"O-oh, I was helping someone with picking a cologne, and then he had this debate with me on which brand sells the best fragrance." Cider explained, and she suddenly noticed a smug smirk forming on the nineteen's year old face. "Are you feeling carsick, Leorio?" She said with a worried expression.

"No I'm fine, but you don't need to lie to me." The nineteen year old stated, and his smug smirk turned into wide smile. "You were flirting with a guy, aren't you?" He queried slyly, and Cider felt her cheeks warm up.

"No I wasn't flirting with anyone, I just helped a guy pick out a cologne, and subsequently bought his cologne so that I didn't need to pay twice the amount for one bottle of Savon Doux perfume." She explained truthfully, and Leorio's wide smile was still plastered on his face. "As I said before Leorio, I wasn't flirting with him, but I will admit that his taste in brands are...impeccable." Cider admitted with a small cough, and the warmth of her cheeks was fading away.

"Ahh I see," Leorio said with an understanding head nod. "Heh, I didn't know you were into guys with fat wallets." The teenager stated with a joking smile.

"No, no, that's not what I look for in a man at all! The things that I look for in a man are...w-well I guess you can say I have a _fetish_ for..." Cider chirped nervously and realized that she may have said too much. However, it was too late for her to switch topics, for she had already hooked Leorio's interest. "Hey, don't back out now. Tell me, what kind of fetish do you have?" Her junior asked curiously, and without any hesitation or anxiety. Cider's heart was fluttering fast, and she rubbed the back of her head restlessly to try to alleviate some of her jitters. Her junior that she had a crush on asked what type of guy she likes, but the fact that he's asking her that question was making her giddy. Trying to remain composed, Cider finished her response to satisfy his interests.

"W-well, you see I have this fetish for...muscular sharp dressed men." She stated, and when she finished her sentence, she was welcomed with an awkward silence from not only her junior, but also with Mika and the driver, who couldn't help but ease drop on the conversation. She felt her face turning beet red, "Ah I'm sorry, I didn't mean to creep you out with my fixation towards muscular sharp dressed men."

Leorio led out a disappointing groan, "Cider that's not a fetish, that's a preference. A fetish is having a thing for nurse costumes or something extreme like being tied up." He explained heavily.

"A-ah really?!" Cider responded in shock, but slowly turned her head towards to the window. Not only she felt her heart fluttering, but she had also felt that she wanted to curl up into the ball. 'Stupid me...' She berated herself mentally, and then she stared at the scenery outside of the car. The tall concrete buildings, the cloudy skies, and the passing people walking on the sidewalks, it made her very nostalgic.

"Thinking about your comrades at Yorknew?" She heard Leorio's voice again and she softly nodded while fiddling with her yellow cell phone on her lap. 'It's getting hard to remember how they all look like...' She said to herself, and sorted through her muddy memories. "I don't really talk to my comrades after my last job in this city, but I do hear about them by gossip or from other hunters." She explained lightly to her junior, and grasped her phone lightly with her hands.

"You know, if you haven't spoke to them for while, they might think of you as a flake. Have you tried getting into contact with any of them?" The nineteen year old retorted candidly, and was then welcomed with silence. 'Did I say too much?' He questioned himself, and slightly cracked open the taxi's window. Taking in the fresh city air, Leorio sank into his thoughts, and wondered about the things that will happen next month, which was something very important to a close friend of his.

"Uhm...if you don't mind me asking Leorio, where in Yorknew will you be meeting with your friends next month?" Cider asked quietly, and continued to stare at the car window. Suddenly, she heard an inaudible squeal from beside her, and she turned her to attention to a now bewildered Leorio.

"Crap, we didn't think about that!" He shouted, and was astounded that him or any of his friends haven't debated on where to meet in the city. One moment later, the taxi finally parked near a sidewalk, and the taxi driver stated to the passengers that they have reached their destination. Paying the hefty taxi fare, the three headed went on their way to the boutiques.

"I'm gonna go buy some cute things!" Mika shouted with delight, and ran towards a shop that had a white cat mascot.

"Oi, Mika! Don't wander off without a guardian!" Leorio snapped, and followed after her. "C'mon Cider, we got to stop the girl before she makes us her personal packing mules!" He beckoned with an earnest grin, and the twenty year old woman nodded with a smile.

"R-right!" Cider chirped, and as she dashed over to the cute cat boutique, she accidentally bumped into someone who was wearing a grey silk suit. Quickly giving an apologetic bow to the person she bumped into, the suited man with a clean shaved beard scoffed at her and flicked his blazer to remove something off it. Shrugging it off with an awkward expression, Cider went on her to way to the cutesy boutique, while the suited man went into the same taxi that Cider and the others took.

The taxi driver flicked his cap at the suited man, and in return his new passenger nudged his head at him.

"Is that the girl that the boss was talking about?" The suited man asked the driver sternly, who drove the car into the road.

"From what I've seen, she's the only girl that fits the description; flimsy and absurd blue colored hair." The driver stated as he paid attention to the road. "And so far one of our guys already got her around his finger, and is going shopping with her. Though it's kinda weird that Dopple would do that and also wanted to find out about the girl's fetishes." He explained concernedly, but the bearded man was unfazed about it.

"That's Dopple for ya, he's just digging info out of that temp hunter or whatever he thinks is interesting to him." The silk suited man stated, and glanced at the time on the car's radio. "For now, we're just scoping out info on hunters who are coming to Yorknew or any one that would be a hindrance to the big auction next month, and seeing that trade off with that Kurta book was compromised, we have some unfinished business to attend to." He explained to his cohort heavily, and remembered what his boss told him.

_"If I have to crush people's toes to get what I want, then so be it. I need that book at all costs, you hear me?!"_

"All this for a lousy book that's only worth one million jenny."The driver blurted bitterly, and he drove the car to another section of expensive boutiques. "Hey, have you tried contacting with Dopple yet?" He asked curiously, and the bearded man sighed heavily.

"He's not responding to any of my calls." The bearded man stated impatiently. "Which means, we have to pick him up at the Koach boutique, and I have to knock sense into that idiot to answer his phone at all times." He snapped angrily, and proceeded to call his gang buddies once more.

* * *

Back at the airport, one of the janitors decided to clean up the men's restroom, and as he entered the lavatory, he heard a loud vibration echoing through one of the open stalls. Slowly walking over to the stall near the farthest end of the room, he was welcomed by the sight of a heavily beaten man whose arms were twisted like pretzels.

"Ughgghhh." The spiky haired man groaned out in pain, which made the janitor drop his cleaning equipment, and called out for an ambulance.

As the janitor ran out for help, the robed man who was wearing a headdress watched the janitor at a distance. As the custodian lead two security guards into the men's restroom, the robed man quietly walked out of the airport, and lit himself a cigarette.

"Serves that prick right." The robed man said to himself roughly, and exhaled out the menthol scented smoke from his cigarette.

* * *

"Ahhhh, nothing beats buying a nice dress for yourself!" Mika declared out with a satisfied smile, but her expression turned sour. "But I don't see why you two don't want me to buy more from Bonjour Chat." She sulked and carried two bangs in each hand.

Twenty minutes have passed, and the three were finally out of store that Mika truly adored. The inside of the store was filled with ribbons and other cute accessories/clothing that had cartoon mascots imprinted on them. Although the cute interior didn't faze the two girls, the only boy in the group, Leorio, felt like he was sticking out like a sore thumb in that store, and he was thankful that Mika didn't waste any more time in that shop.

"If you bought more things in that store, we won't have time to shop for ourselves and you would make us carry all that cute crap of yours." Leorio retorted, and glared at the seventeen year old who was sticking her tongue at him.

"Don't be sad, Mika. There's plenty of boutiques that have cute clothes for you, and it's best to look at other brands of clothing." Cider kindly reassured the haughty girl, and hoped that her attempts can stop the two teens from fighting with each other.

"I hope you're right, but Bonjour Chat is the only place I really like shopping in, and it's the only place that has cute clothing. Where do you usually shop at Cider?" Mika quizzed the temp hunter, who looking at the boutiques that were scattered around the area.

"It's hard to say, since many brands have good clothing, but right now, I'm thinking of going to Dick Sakura to see if they have their latest autumn clothing line in stock. But if you or Leorio want to go to another store, that's fine too." Cider answered Mika's question.

"Nah, you go on ahead." The nineteen year old med student interrupted Cider, and had a slightly sour look on his face. "I'll head on to Plantain Society and Bap store that's near the Koach shop, and meet you two there. Don't spend all your money all at once, ladies." Leorio ordered the girls with a wink, and disappeared in the sea of people.

Temporarily leaving the two girls with their shopping, Leorio strolled over to the Plantain Society and browsed to see if they had anything that he would like to wear. Before he decided to splurge on a new suit, he then recalled about yesterday's conversation about his suits on the airplane. 'One suit wouldn't hurt, right? Not only that, I'm going to some casual clothing as well. Though now that I think about it, what kind of clothes would impress girls like Bambi?' He asked himself, and noticed the sharp dressed mannequins on display. Before he made his decision on buying a pair of plaid pants, he heard his cell phone's jingle, and it was a text message from Cider.

**I hope I'm not interrupting you with your shopping, but here's some clothing suggestions to impress Bambi, and a list of things on what girls like her might like.**

**Sorry if I'm bothering you - Cider ._.;;;**

'What a bizarre girl.' Leorio thought to himself with a half smile, and he looked at the suggested clothing website links that Cider recommended. After looking through the websites and images of clothing, the med student was a bit shocked by the temp's picks of clothing. 'Most of these suggestions aren't bad, and some of them can work well with my budget.' He said to himself with relief, and continued with his shopping. Forty minutes later, Leorio finished paying his purchase and headed out of the Plantain Society boutique. Stopping in front of the Koach store, Leorio took out his phone and was about to respond to someone's text message, but as he touched the phone's screen, two suited strangers surrounded him.

"Finally you're done with shopping! C'mon Dopple, let's go, we have a meeting with the others, and you owe me a drink."

Before Leorio could protest, he was caught off by a sudden hard slap on the back that caused his sunglasses to slip off his face. 'S-shoot, I can't really see what's near me.' He thought heavily, and suddenly found himself being put into a car that was yellow like a taxi. Sitting beside a bearded man, the nineteen year old squinted his eyes, and somewhat noticed that the person who was driving the car was the same taxi driver from a few hours ago.

"Head over to the Soft n Cream club and tell the someone to order a round of drinks. We need to discuss things about the preparations for the big auction, and you Dopple need to give us details about that temp hunter you were getting information about." The bearded men explained to the driver sternly.

'Whose Dopple?' Leorio looked at the blurry stranger confusedly, and his eyes widened from what the guy just said out loud.

'Are they looking for Cider!?'

* * *

See you in the next chapter, and as always, feedback/favs/alerts are always appreciated!


	14. Dress and Dance in the Sweetest Memory

Hello guys, and happy reading! As always, reviews/favs/ect are always appreciated!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Hunter x Hunter, artwork used for the covers, references, or any songs that will be used in the story.

Songs: Inspiration for the Chapter Title- Dance in the Sweet Memories by EUROX (from the anime, Kimagure Orange Road)

\- Walk Like an Egyptian by The Bangles

-Remember by Lust

-Affection from the JJBA Battle Tendency OST

-Every Single Night by ANDROID - APARTMENT

-"Pietre": Growing Wings (Piano BGM) from Drakengard 3 OST

-Tenshi no Enogu by Mari Iijima

-Let's Dance by David Bowie

-"Dansu?": Friday Night from the Yakuza 0 OST

-Amaku Kiken na Kaori (Elegant Ferry Remix) sung by Tatsuro Yamashita

-"Dance!": Night Lovers Left Behind by ANDROID APARTMENT

-Wurl (Demo ver.) by Last Dinosaurs

-"Bleugh, it's spicy.": Mathematics Love Poem by ANDROID APARTMENT

-Benoist from the Densha Otoko OST

-"You're okay!": Rendez-vous '58 by Toki Asako

* * *

Temporarily leaving Leorio with his clothes shopping, the two girls walked to the Dick Sakura store, and entered through its large glass doors. Although the shop was playing soothing pop music played throughout the room, the melodies could not soothe the hearts of the customers that looked like they were about to rip each other's throats. Like all the other shops in that area, the place was packed with people, and many of them were on the hunt for the latest clothing pieces. Seeing the clothes on display, and people exchanging cold glares at each other, Mika felt a chill crawling on her spine when the group of people took a quick yet sharp glance at her.

The once haughty blonde, lightly turned her away from the group of people. 'Yikes, they almost make Uncle Kasper's ten look like a puppy. I can handle being glared by these chumps, but is **_she _**going to be okay here?' Mika asked herself curiously, and before she could ask Cider if they can go to another store, the temp was already going through a rack of clothes.

Sorting through the racks of clothing, the temp's lips curved into a wide smile, and she held out a soft black yarn poncho in front of her. Although she was being glared at by others who wanted that poncho, Cider pay no mind to them, and continued with her small shopping spree. Seeing the twenty year old shop like a giddy high school student, Mika fixed her glasses to check if her eyes aren't playing tricks on her. However it wasn't a hallucination, Cider was actually shopping normally if not avidly going through clothes that co-worker, would not expect to see her wear.

"Ah, Mika. Did you find anything you like here?" Cider kindly asked Mika, who snapped out of her trance.

"Not yet." The seventeen year old replied, and took notice of a white gypsy blouse in the temp's hands. "That one is cute, but white is so plain." She said, and tried to downplay her interest with the embroidered frilled bodice in her caretaker's hand.

"Oh this one," Cider looked at the white top, and took a quick glance at Mika. "Although it isn't Bonjour Chat or doesn't have any cute prints on it, I think this blouse will suit you in the Fall, and the color, white, would definitely compliment any color or any of those cute patterns that you wear." She explained with a confident smile.

Mika raised her brow at a confident Cider, "Who are you, and what did you do to my caretaker?" She asked with a slightly worried tone.

"A-ah, what do you mean?" The temp asked curiously, reverting back to her former awkward yet polite speech.

A sigh escaped from the strawberry blonde's lips, "Never mind, but I'll take your recommendation in consideration." Mika stated lightly, and shedding off her worries by flicking her glasses. Few minutes later, the two continued with their shopping, and despite the icy glares from the other shoppers, the two girls managed to shake off the icy tension in the air. As the pair went into the fitting rooms to try out their clothes, Mika took notice of a rather provocative translucent sleeved dress in Cider's hands. There the blonde seventeen year old noticed the Cider's expression softening, and the latter shook it off with a sheepish smile. "Can't really wear this at work or on my free time, but it is quite nice though." The temp hunter said warmly, and was about to hang the dress onto a rack.

Not wanting the temp to dampen the shopping mood with sadness, Mika decided to break the silence with a heavy loaded question.

"Thinking of impressing Dr. Gorilla with that dress?" Mika teased jokingly with a mischievous smile, and saw that Cider dropped the dress onto the ground.

"N-no no! I just like wearing nice things that's all." The temp answered and felt the blood rushing through her cheeks. _"Though to be honest, I don't think I'm his_ _type..._" Cider mumbled nervously, and covered her reddened face with the dress. "I'm sorry, I think I've said too much..." She muffled through the dress.

A slight tickle formed in Mika's throat, and she watched as the temp hunter's polite demeanor transition into a giddy lovesick puppy. Ever since that moment Cider ogled at that Pink Brauds Magazine with the doctor on the cover, Mika had a small hunch that her caretaker has some sort of attraction to the med student. However, she didn't anticipate that her caretaker, Cider, would act this way nor be this unsure about herself. The latter was understandable, the lady that Leorio was fawning over, Bambi, was **the **definition of elegance and sophistication. Not only that, the lavender haired woman was intelligent, and from what Mika can recall, that woman was one of the top students in Schadell, which made most her female peers jealous or admired her traits.

'She is pretty and smart, but I don't really know much about her...She just goes to my school.' Mika thought to herself lightly, and took notice of Cider fiddling with her cell phone, possibly texting a message to Leorio about something. Seeing the temp tapping her fingers away on her phone, Mika recalled about something that she overheard on the plane last night.

_'It's good that he has a crush on someone like Ms. Bambi.'_

'Why is that good? Wouldn't he be bored with someone like her?' Mika asked curiously, and vaguely remembered a romantic comic about a love triangle that consisted of a whimsical female juvenile delinquent and a sweet yet high-strung high school gal. Thinking about the comic, the teen found herself imagining the three young adults as high school students. 'Maybe it'll end up like that...No, no, that cannot work! Sure, Bambi fits with the sweet high school girl trait, but Cider doesn't really fit into either of them...And I have this weird feeling that this would inflate Gorilla's ego if he ever found out about this. Still, it must stink being the unrequited one..' She sympathized with her caretaker, who was still fiddling with her phone.

Snapping out of her daydream, Mika caught her caretaker's attention by leading out a small cough. "Don't worry, I won't tell Dr. Gorilla anything." Mika promised Cider, with a somewhat reassuring smile. Then she quickly changed the subject, "Hey, you said that you were off for the time being, right? So why don't you buy that dress? After all, you're on vacation, and girls like us should spoil ourselves when we have the chance and the money for it." The teenage girl stated bluntly which surprised Cider a bit.

As Cider digested each word from the girl's question, she rubbed the back of her head, and gave her response some thought. The straightforward seventeen year old was right, the temp did had some free time to spare, but her anxiety was nagging her to not do anything that's considered careless or something that might get her in trouble. However, the dress in her hands was tempting, and she knew that she cannot resist buying anything that's on sale or something nice that was sold in limited quantities.

'Autumns said to not do anything stupid or heroic in Yorknew, but I'm temporarily off from work so...' The blue haired temp debated for a few minutes, and blurted out, "Oh, why not." With a nervous smile, Cider walked herself into one of the fitting rooms to try out not only the clothes she picked out, but also the dress. Removing her jacket, Cider then pulled out her phone to check if there was any messages or a notification from that sketchy app. Thinking about that joker card app made her wince, and she wasn't too thrilled of getting an update from that bizarre jester. Suddenly out of the blue, her phone began to rang, and it was the same metalcore jingle.

'Speak of the devil...' Cider thought fixedly, and checked her phone. It was a text message from Leorio, which made the twenty year old not only sigh in relief, but also made her heart thump repeatedly.

**Just got your message, and I have to say that you're quite good at picking clothes. I'm going to look so fly, that my friends will be in awe !**

**Also, you're not bothering me. Remember, we're pals!**

"Pals..." She said faintly, and placed her phone down to try out her clothes. As she slowly tried out each article of clothing, the blue haired woman's expression softened a bit, and found herself re-looking at memories that involved with people that she formerly worked for. 'I wonder if they're alright?' She asked herself curiously, and took a look at herself in the mirror.

Gazing at her reflection on the store's mirror, she recalled the day that she had to help out with her colleagues with picking out clothes. On that day, the temp hunters alongside other hunters were assigned to survey gangs in the clubs of Yorknew, and the client that hired them, Kharon, joined them as well. Because she was the 'runt' of the team, Cider couldn't join the mission, and was assigned to do paperwork at the agency in Yorknew. The young temp hunter didn't mind it, and she wished the crew good luck on their reconnaissance. However, Cider found herself being assigned for another mission on that day, and the job was to help out the hunters with their clothes. The mission was assigned by a black-list hunter that was not only a friend to Cider, but was very close to Kharon. Cherie was her name, and while she was rather harsh to everyone, she was particularly warm to those that she felt close with.

Strangely enough, Cider had no idea how she became friends with a hunter like Cherie. All the temp hunter could remember was that Cherie was her first client, and she liked the pumps that she wore on their first meet-up. After that, the two became friends, and that was probably one of the reasons why Cider got hired in Yorknew.

'It was nice helping them out pick clothes for them, but I wasn't very much help after that...' Her lips formed into a small yet sad smile, and checked to see if the dress suited her.

"I definitely need to get some pumps to match with this~"

* * *

After a few long moments of trying out clothes, the two girls headed to the check out area to complete their purchases. While Cider was deep in her thoughts, Mika glanced at the pile of clothes that the temp hunter has.

"You...really like shopping don't you?" Mika asked and tried to refrain herself from being rude.

"Yeah, you can say that." Cider answered with an awkward giggle, "Also, I'm sorry that I took too long at the shoes' section, I wanted to get those limited edition heels."

"Apology accepted, bimbo." The seventeen year old replied jokingly. "But you know, I don't mind, it's actually nice to shop with someone near your age." Mika said lightly, and dashed over to the cashier.

After paying her purchases, Mika grabbed her newly purchased blouse, and placed it in the Bonjour Chat bag that had her other purchases. Patiently waiting for her caretaker to pay for her clothes, the blonde glanced at the electronic store pillars that was advertising the store's clothing, pricey cosmetics made by beauty specialists, and fine jewelry crafted by jewelers. Then as she looked at one of the pillars, Mika noticed of an advertisement that was promoting of a new hair treatment.

In the advertisement, it depicted a young woman in a red silk dress, who began to pose in a stunning manner. As she brushed away a few strands of her hair from her face, her normal dark brown hair color transformed into a luscious auburn brown hair. "Hair is our luxury." A charming manly voice announced out loud, and the young woman in red was now in the arms of a handsome model, who was deeply enamored by the woman. "The latest hair coloring treatment created by One-Star Youth and Beauty Hunter, Beaux Melovely. Luxur; only you can be luxurious."

'That treatment sounds pretty pricey.' Mika thought to herself, and then she took a glance at Cider's blue hair. 'I wonder...' She shrugged it off, and went back to staring at the electronic pillars.

The shopkeeper led out a sigh, "Wow that Beaux Melovely sure knows his stuff~! If it weren't for that hair color treatment, I wouldn't have been able to get my dad's hair color." The peppy shopkeeper said Cider, who had placed down clothes on top of the counter. Once the snow white haired shopkeeper was done sorting through the clothes and punching in the prices into the cash register, Cider handed the vendor her ATM card and her Hunter license. Looking at the information on the cards, the shopkeeper's eyes perked up slightly, and she glanced up at the blue haired girl.

"Hey, you're a hunter, right? By any chance have you met Beaux Melovely in person?" The shopkeeper asked Cider curiously, and saw that the blue haired girl was nervously putting away her cards into her wallet.

"S-sorta, but he's kinda hard to get in touch with...Despite that he's really really nice!" Cider explained awkwardly, and watched as the shopkeeper squealed in awe.

"I should definitely take on that Hunter exam next year, if a girl like you passed, I can too as well!" The shopkeeper stated with a determined smile. "Is there anything else that you would like? Not only Dick Sakura sells the finest clothes, but we also deliver them to your home." She explained cheerfully, and watched as Cider placed a filled piece of paper.

"Uhm, about that, can you send these to this address in Baotai City?" Cider asked politely, and pointed at a medium-sized tower of ribbon wrapped boxes on the counter.

From reading the piece of paper, the shopkeeper had a hunch that tower of presents are gifts for someone, and she couldn't help but wonder if it's for a special someone. She re-read the information, and the packages were for a group of people. Three of people on the list shared the last name as the customer in front of her. 'She spent almost 40000 Jenny just to buy clothes and deliver them to her family and friends?! Either this girl is ridiculously kind or is being used by them. I bet it's the second one.' The shopkeeper speculated, and masked her shallowness with a smile. "Alright, the address and names looks about right. Would you like to write a little message for the package?" She asked Cider politely, and the latter rubbed her head shyly.

"I-if you don't mind, can you write this?" Cider muttered, and felt her cheeks warm up a bit. "Please stay warm you guys, and I hope to visit you soon, mama." She explained warmly, and took notice of the shopkeeper briefly turning her head to a different direction. "Are you alright, m'am? If it's about the message, I can change it if you like." The twenty year old asked the vendor, and the latter had a scrunched up grin on her face.

"Yeah, I'm fine, and n-no the message is fine. I just never heard anyone call their mom, mama, that's all." She responded lightly, and punched in a few things into the cash register to confirm everything. Fully completing the transaction, the vendor waved goodbye to Cider, and as the blue haired hunter left the register, the vendor took out her cell phone.

"Hello, mom? My shift is almost done, and I was wondering...Instead of cooking, do you want to go out for dinner?"

* * *

Walking with three shopping bags slung on her left mid arm, Cider walked over to Mika, who was deeply entranced by her cell phone. Making a small peep, the seventeen year old put away her phone, and slightly nodded to her caretaker. Minutes later, the two girls walked through the pathways of the shopping district, and one of them felt like she was being watched.

"Is there something wrong, Mika?" Cider turned to the seventeen year old, who continued to stare at the former's hair.

"Nothing's wrong, I'm just curious about your hair color that's all." Mika explained, which made the temp hunter worry. "It's a nice shade of blue, not too overly bright and very subtle. Must be lucky to be born with that color." She asked curiously, and saw that her caretaker's face was all scrunched up.

"I'm glad you like it, but to tell you the truth..." The temp hunter took a deep breath, "_This isn't really my hair color..._" She whispered quietly, and Mika's eyes widened in shock.

"Wha-wha-what?!" The girl responded in shock, and Cider nervously strutted a few inches away from her. Before she could badger her caretaker with questions regarding about her hair, she saw the caretaker squatting in front of the Koach shop and picked off something from the ground. In the twenty year old's hands was a pair of glasses, which was very similar to the ones that Leorio wore. "Did Gorilla just ditch us and went back to the hotel?" Mika asked curiously.

"I hope not, and aren't these prescribed?" Cider answered, and stood herself up from squatting on the ground. The temp hunter recalled the times that Leorio fiddled or fixed his glasses, and the times that he didn't wear them. In her perspective; she felt it was a bit risky that the med student would sometimes not wear his glasses, but the latter reassured her that he's fine without them in some cases.

'I've seen people not wear their glasses and they say that they can see without them, but I don't think he would throw his favorite pair away.' She told herself, and remembered the moments that he would carefully rub away particles from his glasses' lenses. A moment later, a familiar metalcore jingle emitted from Cider's jacket pocket, and she took out her phone, hoping it was from Leorio. Unfortunately, it was someone else, someone that was she hoping not to hear from anytime soon.

**That ability your little friend has is quite interesting. It's as if she can sense someone from afar, before they snatch her sweetness away *-_-;.**

From the corner of her eye, Cider saw that a small group of men were loitering near an electronic shop, which was one feet away from Mika's back. The guys looked like they just got off of work, but something about their suits felt off, which was enough to put her in the defensive. No doubt that those were silk suits, and within Yorknew city and the Association, silk suits were associated with a notorious mafia gang known as, the Shiao Family. Years ago, the Shiao Family was just a measly gang of goons that originated from the Dentora region. Unlike other mafia gangs at that time, the Shiao Family barely caused any ruckus within Yorknew. In recent years, that particular gang has been garnering attention from other mafia families, and smaller gangs fear them. Today, the Shiao Family specializes in handling items that would be sold in black markets or auctions. However, that's not the only thing the gang specializes in, and only a fair group of people and hunters from the Association know about it.

'I'm not sure if I should thank the clown for texting me or be annoyed by the fact that his messages are all cryptic.'

Cider went back to looking at her cell phone, and lightly touched the keyboard on the screen. This time, the colorful clown didn't use the app to get her attention, he simply texted her, and even used an emoticon as if they were chums. Calmly looking at her phone, the temp hunter thought over the clown's message.

'Someone that can sense anything from afar... Does he mean Mika? No, I don't think so. It would be to obvious and sudden that Hisoka would know about Mika's ability.' Cider repeated in her head, and continued to look at her phone. 'Did he mean that one of those guys is using En?'

Since Cider couldn't use her nen, she tried her best to get a good look of the strangers from the distance. 'It's probably the best that I don't have my nen right now, if one senses me, that would mean trouble.' She thought in relief, but felt that her stomach was coiling up. 'But the last few words in his message, 'Snatch their target', no... Don't tell me... LEORIO!' She clenched onto her phone tightly, and struggled to refrain herself from panicking. Being frazzled is the last thing that Cider needed to do, right now, she needed to think over things without being watched by a gang of thugs.

"Are you okay?" Mika asked out loud to Cider, who was startled by her. Before the seventeen year old made another peep, she felt her phone vibrating in her pocket, and she checked her phone.

**We're being followed. Don't panic, everyone is going to be fine. Seal off your nen and please follow me.**

Once the blonde teen temporarily sealed off her nen, Cider tucked away her cell phone and smiled weirdly at the young blonde girl. The woman knew her smile was forced, but it was an attempt to reassure the young girl that nothing bad is going to happen. Unfortunately, the text message that she had sent to Mika caused the latter to be slightly skittish, and because of it, Mika had sealed off her nen abruptly, which caught one of the thugs attention.

Cider casually stretched out her arms, "I'm tired..." She muttered with a sigh, and Mika raised her brow in confusion. "Let's head back to the inn!" The temp hunter declared out loud.

* * *

Seven minutes later, Mika found herself walking casually with Cider, and playfully swaying her shopping bags in the air. As they walked through an alleyway that had a fruit vendor, Mika overheard footsteps behind her, and as she took a quick glance, there was three people in silk suits following them. It was the same exact outfit that those people wore back at the bookstore in Waldhalle.

'Silk suits...' Mika recollected, and slowly came to the realization to who those people were. As Mika felt her heart pattering fast, she closely followed Cider, as if she was a child who was following her mother.

Cider remained silent, and continued to walk along the pathways and alleyways laid out in front of her. She felt horrible about the current situation, and getting two of her traveling buddies into unnecessary trouble. Though something about the situation bugged her, but she had to put those feelings aside, and find a place to hide from the people that were following her. From what she recalled, there was a cafe in the seedy sections of the city, and someone from her time working at the city was nice enough to bring her there on breaks. Although the way to accessing the cafe was difficult, the food, the beverages, and the atmosphere made up for it.

'Which way was it again...Ah I remember! When you spot a red wall that's where you turn here.' Cider thought, and guided Mika through an alleyway that one of the buildings' sides was painted bright red.

After passing through a few alleyways, the two finally arrived at a street that smelt of smoke, and the sounds of an electric generator hummed through the area. Right in front of the two was a shady inn called, Hotel Shag, and beside it was a mom-and-pop convenient store. Outside of the shop was an old man sitting near a sleeping German Shepherd, and listening old music on a radio. Without hesitation, Cider carefully guided Mika into the store, and as they entered the shop, the old man led a scratchy cough while tipping his old garden hat to them. In exchange for the greeting, the temp struggled to whistle a tune which the old man approved of it.

"The one that I adore deeply belongs to somebody's else~" The old man sung to himself and his pet.

Walking through the chilly aisles filled with snacks and over-the-counter medications, the two girls stopped near the fridges filled with chilled beverages. Seeing that they were safe for now, Cider led out a relieved sigh, and saw that Mika was trembling. Cider continued to feel dreadful about the situation, her boss' daughter is scared, and Leorio may have been abducted by one of Shiao's henchmen or worse...dead.

Cider repressed her ill feelings away in her heart, "Okay...since we lost those guys on the way here, it's more than likely they would check the hotel. But to make sure, let's have a warm drink for now and talk things over." Cider explained calmly, and opened one of the fridges.

As Cider opened one of the fridges, she revealed to Mika a small pleat of stairs that was dusted with ice led them to up to a room that was warmer than the convenient store. To check if she was seeing things, Mika temporarily removed her glasses and put it back on. The entrance in the fridge was real, and the teenager was amazed by the fact the caretaker knows about a place like this.

"How? Ah-ACHOO!" The teenager tried to make a sentence, but all she could do was led out a loud sneeze.

"Let's go up already before you catch a cold." Cider stated to Mika, and nudged her up the stairs.

* * *

It was fifteen minutes after entering the convenient store's fridges, and the two girls sat themselves in a table booth near a window. The frosty pleat of stairs had led them to a silent cafe that had a good view of the other side of the city. On top of their table was a decorative gourd with a metal straw, and a fruit parfait that was already being eaten. While Mika ate her sweets and warmed herself with some warm yet woodsy flavored tea, Cider glanced through the window, and the enjoyed the scenery of the brighter part of the city. Despite the building being in a sketchy area, it was pleasant in the inside, and the place gives people a nice view of a part of the city where people sat at white tables. Sadly, it was hard to relax and enjoy the place, especially when another friend of yours is nowhere to be seen.

After sipping her tea through the metal straw in the gourd, Mika led out a loud satisfying gasp, "So how do you know about this place?" She broke the silence, and refilled the gourd with hot water. "I know that you lived in Yorknew for a bit, but I never thought you would know so much about places like this." Mika stated bluntly, and offered the *gourd to her caretaker, Cider.

Once she took the gourd from Mika's hand, Cider took a few sips of the tea through the metal straw to calm herself down. Although her nen was temporarily sealed off by her doctor in Waldhalle, Cider was somewhat relieved that she didn't have her nen right now, or else the gourd that was full of tea in her hands would have overflowed by the woman's overwhelming anxiety. As the earthy flavored tea soothed her, she placed the gourd down, and slowly answered the girl's question.

"Long story short, a former comrade of mine introduced me to this place, and this is where we usually go when we got time off from our squad leader, Kharon." Cider explained a bit, and rubbed her brow a bit. "Now that I think about it...Am I really suppose to tell you all of this?" She mumbled out, but then she remembered her conversation that she had with her doctor, Casper Ski.

_"Cider Meiming, are you willing to be Mika's mentor?"_

It was five days since Cider had that conversation with the Single Star Virus Hunter, and in the end of it, she accepted his favor. At first, Cider politely refused on taking the favor, and heavily told her doctor that picking her as a mentor is not wise. While she may have taught one of his pupils the first part of nen training, she still considers herself as inadequate. Someone who had mastered nen for about twenty to forty years would have been a better option, and Cider was deeply terrified by the idea of being a mentor.

_"Mika still has ways to go, and while her father slightly disagreed about being stricter on her, he did agree that she needs training and be exposed more to the other parts of the world along with meeting new people. Which is something that you need to rediscover too, Cider, and think about it, you're killing two birds with one stone! Not only you're teaching your boss' daughter, you'll also have something to impress your crush. I heard young guys these days have a thing for lady teachers._"

'Why do I still remember that part of that conversation? Cider thought heavily, and snapped out of her trance. Then she continued her conversation with Mika, by retracting her earlier statement. "Then again, I've spent a lot of time with both you and Leorio, and I see you as good friends. S-so I think it's safe for me now to tell you guys about my time in this city, which may help us with this current problem we have right now. T-then again, you don't need to do this Mika!" She explained with a nervous yet sincere smile, "You've been through a lot on your first day in Yorknew, so if you feel stressed now, I can always call up a limo to bring you back to the Beitacle Hote-."

"No, no!" Mika cut off her caretaker by slamming her hands onto the table. "You've got me and Leorio into this situation, so now I'm going to help you get Leorio out of it! Besides, I don't want to go back to the boring hotel alone, and it's about time you spill out those secrets of yours! So I'm helping, and that's final!" She shouted with a childish glare.

Cider giggled softly at Mika's rant, and she accepted defeat with an awkward grin. Sitting the cafe and seeing the youthful characteristics of Mika made the temp hunter very nostalgic. Just now, she felt as if she was still a temp hunter fresh from the Association, and was having lunch with her buddy, Pietre.

Noticing that Cider's eyes were tearing up, Mika flicked her glasses, and took out her cell phone. "First things first, we need to find Gorilla, and find out why some of Shiao's goons are following us, specifically, you. Do you think they're going after you to get more intel on that bozo you worked with on that day?" She explained, and quickly type something on her phone.

"It must have something to do with the trade-off the Association did with the Shiao Family, but that's weird since the reports for that job was said to be a success." Cider replied calmly, and recollected the events that happened five days ago. "It's already known that Hiroko was in cahoots with them, but when he was caught the day after the job, the Association discovered that the Shiao Family had already cut ties with him. So I doubt that they're still after him, and in pure honesty, he's quite lucky." She explained to Mika, who was still fiddling with her cell phone. Then Cider remembered her match with the clown, Hisoka, who played a trick on her by making his play cards look like valuable book pages.

'He may not be a Shiao Family member, but is he fully telling the truth? What if this whole thing is an elaborate trick of his?' Cider noted to herself, and suddenly her Smartphone rang. Quickly pulling it out, she glanced at her phone's screen, and from looking the screen, her face reddened. It was another text from Hisoka, but it came with a photo that was making the twenty year old uneasy. "Ugch..." She muttered out, and continued to stare at her phone's screen.

Seeing Cider's reaction to her phone, Mika walked over to her said, and peeked over to see what the latter was looking at. The seventeen year old reacted the same why as her caretaker, but her face didn't turn tomato red, her glasses fogged up.

**I can't believe that you almost lost one of my precious fruits...**

**No matter, today's a great night for dancing. I'm sure this place will satisfy my hunger for something soft and full of sweet cream.**

Above the text message was a photo depicting the clown's well toned body, and wrapped around his arm was Leorio's head. Shaking off these weird feelings forming in her heart, Cider carefully looked at the photo and the racy text message that came with it. 'Something soft, and full of cream...' She repeated to herself, and felt her cheeks heating up. This clown was all kinds of lewdness, but something about his teasing message was sparking something in the temp hunter's mind. Then she turned her attention to the photo, and took notice of the background, it looked like a disco dance floor, and in the corner of the photo there was some guys in silk suits dancing with some ladies, who were holding feathered fans.

"Soft...And sweet cream? Cream...and soft." Cider repeated the words, and suddenly, the light bulb in head lit up. "They're at the Soft n Cream Club!" She shouted in shock, and the realization that they were at a flirtatious dance club made her face scrunched up.

"U-uhm Mika, can you call for a taxi and tell them to come here in about an hour or so? I need to get ready for some...dancing."

* * *

Once the sky has darkened, the city's lights illuminated the sky and the streets, signaling that not only the day was almost over, but also marking the beginning of the night life in Yorknew. It's been hours since Leorio had disappeared, and the members of the Shiao family that had followed the girls returned back to their hideout. Seeing that it was safe to leave the area, the two girls got into the taxi, and went off to the darker parts of the metropolis.

"Okay, so let me get this straight..." Mika whispered out quietly in the car, and watched as Cider carefully applied concealer on her lips. "You're plan is to go into the club to rescue Leorio without nen or anything to defend yourself?" The teenager asked as she nervously flicked her glasses.

"That's the plan, and unfortunately, it's the only one that I can think of on short notice..." Cider responded lightly, and sprayed the back of her ears with her perfume.

"But what happens if the Shiao Family catches you?"

Cider rubbed the droplets of perfume on the back of her ears, and her neck with her fingers. "Then I die." She stated out bluntly, and from the corner of her eye, she saw Mika's horrified facial expression. "A-ah, but don't worry! I promise that's not going to happen. I'll come back with Leorio, alive and safe."

"Y-you better!" The haughty teen blurted out, and began to lightly punch her caretaker for spooking her with an overly honest answer.

Minutes later, the taxi finally stopped at the corner of a sidewalk, and Cider quickly got herself out of the car. Placing her high-heeled feet onto the concrete, a dolled-up Cider strutted a few inches away from the car, and then she turned around to look at Mika.

"Remember what you need to do." Cider said calmly to the seventeen year old. "Order some room service, and play some video games in the hotel room while I dance the night away, okay?"

'Just like what you did for me on that rooftop, I'll save you. I promise.'

* * *

**_'This is bad. This is really bad. If they find out I'm not this Dopple guy, I'm gonna get my fingers cut off or worse, I'll sleep with the fishes!'_**

Stuck in a taxi with two members of the illusive Shiao Family, a visually impaired Leorio tried to keep his cool by remaining quiet, and sitting close as possible to the left passenger car window. From what he can remember, the bearded man beside him mentioned of going to a club called, Soft n Cream, and discussing about things like the auction in September. The med student felt his stomach churning, and he wondered if the two girls were still shopping, and not captured by other silk suited goons who were probably lurking around the whole city. Not only he was thinking about the girls' safety, he was also thinking of why the Mafia was tracking down on Cider. 'Is it because of that book?' He asked himself, and remembered the cursed book that was encrusted with fake gems. Moments later, Leorio had hatched up a plan that he believe was not only risky, but also quite cunning.

'If these jokers really think I'm their buddy, maybe I can dig more info on what they're planning to do.' The nineteen year old told himself, and slowly glanced at the two men in the car. 'Seeing that we're going to a club, it's going to be crowded for sure, and that's a good thing! If the real Dopple enters the club, I can just blend into the crowds of people, and escape from the back.' Leorio nodded to himself with a sly grin, and out of nowhere, he felt something hard hit his back. Refraining himself from leading out a painful shout, he turned his attention to the bearded man, who had a wide yet eerie smile on his face.

"Haha, you seem to be in a chipper mood than usual, and not to mention that you really went overboard with your pay from yesterday's job." The bearded man stated bluntly, and stared at the bags of clothes that Leorio bought. "Can't blame ya though, you always get antsy when we go to clubs, especially if it's Soft n Cream. So I guess it's okay if you want to look good to impress the girls and guys at the dance floor." He explained gruffly, and saw that his spiky haired buddy was squinting his eyes directly at him. "Hey, no need to get emotional on me about Soft n Cream, stupid." He stated harshly, and pulled out a cigar from his suit.

"S-sorry uhh..." Leorio muttered out in a low voice, and felt his heart quickening. Once the bearded man heard his input, the smile on his face had disappeared, and was replaced with a suspicious scowl. Before things turned bleak for the nineteen year old, the car suddenly stopped moving, and the driver turned his attention to the guys in the back.

"We're here." The taxi driver stated lightly, and took out his flip phone. "Should I call the others, Jaoi?" He asked the bearded man, and was welcomed by a cloud of toxic smoke.

"Idiot! I told you to do that thirty minutes ago, and do you know how long it is going to take for the bartender to make those drinks!?" Jaoi the bearded Shiao goon snapped at the driver angrily. Suddenly, he heard one of the car doors opening, and saw that 'Dopple' was getting out of the car. "Where do you think you're going, Dops?" He asked in a curious manner, and could have sworn he saw the spiky man tremble in fear.

"O-oh you know, I wanna get dressed up for tonight, can't really impress the cuties with wearing a lame silk suit." Leorio answered in a sly tone, and as he waited for a response from the bearded man, he gripped onto the handles of his shopping bags tightly, as if it was the last thing he can hold on too.

Jaio exhaled out another cloud of smoke from his cigar, "Ah, okay, but don't stink up the men's restroom with your shitty cologne like last time. Also, for god's sake, take some cough medicine if you can, it sounds like you got a cold." He told his gang buddy, and took another puff from his cigar.

"Sure thing, Jaio-man!" Leorio responded with a smile, and silently sighed in relief. 'Good, they still think I'm Dopple, but...Do I really sound like I have a cold?' He asked himself with worry, and shrugged it off as he headed over to the club's entrance.

Although the club's exterior looks like any other small building, the inside of it left Leorio's mouth open in awe. From what he can see with his vision, the entire club area looked like something out of those old disco movies that he use to watch with best friend, and he couldn't help, but feel nostalgic about the place. Then he remembered the time, where he use to sat beside his best friend, who was lying on a rickety bed while trying to recover from an illness.

_"Once you get better, Pietro, the two of us will get jobs, and we'll buy ourselves some suits, so we can get all the chicks at a dance club!"_

'It would've have been great if we burnt the dance floor together again. Just like the time we danced like idiots at that festival.' Leorio told himself with a soft smile, and then a few moments later, he accidentally bumped into one of the club's colorful columns. He winced from slamming his face onto the pillar's hard surface, 'This would've been okay, if I still had my glasses.' He gritted his teeth slightly, and somehow, managed to find the men's restroom. However, as he entered the restroom to change, he accidentally bumped into someone, and that caused him to fall back onto the tiled floor.

"Sorry about that," Leorio apologized to the stranger, who was drawing closer to his face. Before he could say anything to the purplish blob in front of him, he felt something slide up onto his face, and there, he found that he could see again, but everything in front of him was tinted grayish blue. Unfortunately, the nineteen year old's relief of seeing again was short-lived, and it was because he found himself locking eyes with a certain someone that made his skin crawl. Crouching in front of him was none other than his hunter acquaintance, and the last person he wants to see at a club, Hisoka. However, the creepy clown was not in his original getup, but instead, he had his hair combed out, and his current ensemble looked like something out of a men's fashion magazine.

"Y-you!" Leorio mustered out, and rose his arms up as a way to defend himself.

"Now, now." The clown cooed out sweetly at Leorio, and began to adjust the new pair of prescribed glasses on the boy's face. "There, consider that as a gift for that little 'teaser' you gave me back at Waldhalle." He explained in a breathy manner, and watched as Leorio squirmed away from him.

"The least you could do is pay for my dry cleaning, but I guess these glasses will do." Leorio chided, and was somewhat thankful for the clown's surprisingly kind gesture, but something about the clown being at the club made him concerned. Then the realization struck him like a ton of bricks, "Are you here for that auction, and for Kurapika?" He asked concernedly, and Hisoka shook his head slightly.

"Tsk, tsk. Answering those questions so soon will spoil all the fun, and not to mention..." The clown cornered the poor guy against the opposite side of the wall, and then he leaned close to Leorio's face. "You should be more concerned on what those guys are packing for tonight." Hisoka explained, and sighed near Leorio's ear, which had made the latter squirm and squeal in pure disgust.

Backing away from Leorio, the mischievous clown lowered his gaze, and noticed the bags of clothing near the legs of his 'precious fruit'. From what Hisoka can see, the clothes in the bags were quite a catch, but the clown had a hunch that a certain temp hunter suggested those. 'How sweet of her.' Hisoka told himself, and fondly remembered the excitement he received from the little spar he had with her, and pleasure he got from trying to break her. Not wanting to linger in the past any longer, Hisoka strutted off to the main club area, and before he left, he gave a sly yet sensual wink at Leorio.

"I can't wait to see you at the dance floor." He muttered to him, and watched as the nineteen year old stormed into the men's bathroom.

'MAN, HE GIVES ME THE CREEPS!' Leorio screamed to himself in horror, and entered in one of the restroom's larger stalls to change into his newly bought clothes. Twelve minutes had passed, and the nineteen year old exited out of the stall. Walking over the restroom's mirror, he took a good look at his reflection, and began to fix his hair. Finishing his hair routine, the med student couldn't resist the urge to pose in front of the mirror. 'I gotta give my thanks to Cider, but first things first." He turned his attention to his surroundings, and saw a huge window at the end of the restroom. Once he took a peak outside of the window, Leorio saw that there was an opened dumpster, but it was too far for him to throw the bags into the thing. Thinking that there was a garbage chute somewhere in the building, he straightened out his glasses, and casually walked out of the restroom.

Once he got out of the restroom, Leorio carefully observed his surroundings to see if there was a nearby garbage chute, and few minutes later, he saw one of the club's cooks was holding a hefty bag of used glass bottles and trash. Seeing that the cook was holding a trash bag, the nineteen year old followed him secretly, and once the chef stopped walking, Leorio laid himself against the wall. In the corner of his eye, he saw the garbage chute, and as the cook retreated back into the kitchen, Leorio dashed over to the thing.

"There you are Dopple!" A voice called out from the distance, and Leorio turned his attention to where the voice came from.

A feet away from Leorio was another member of the Shiao Family, and the guy looked like he was about the same age as himself. Placing his arms behind his back, Leorio slowly maneuvered the bags of old clothes and other purchases into the chute. "Looking good there, Dops! I see that you've been catching up on the latest clothing trends." The Shiao Family member chirped with a smile, and Leorio went along with the former's chat.

"Man, you should've saw the boss today!" The young Shiao Family goon stated heavily, "He looked like he was about to blow a gasket from finding out what happened to the pages for the book, Eyes of Many. If it weren't for Pietre, I know for sure I was going to be a goner." The young lad explained in relief.

'Pietre?' Leorio repeated, but he restrained himself from looking too shocked. 'Okay, the bags are in. Now I just need to close the hatch behind me.' He told himself, and as he carefully closing the tiny door to the garbage chute behind him, Leorio decided to take his chance. Once the chute's door was closed shut, the med student grabbed the young gang member's attention by asking him a question. "So...when are we going to discuss about the temp hunter?" Leorio asked in a nonchalant tone, and watched as the ginger headed boy shook his head.

"Jaio got a phone call from him a while ago," The young boy explained, and rubbed the back of his ginger colored head. "Pietre told us to back off on digging more info from that temp hunter, and **you** to not breath a word about her. He also wanted me to tell you that you're a dumbass, and you should get your eyes checked."

"Ah, I see." Leorio muttered under his breath, and couldn't help but feel that Cider's former comrade was directly insulting him. "Will he be at the club later tonight?" He asked the young mafia member, who was twirling a strand of his ginger hair.

"Nope, he said that he had something to do in Leder's Square, though it's a bit sad that he won't be joining us. Usually he comes to this club or some other place to cheer himself up, but I guess something must of soured his mood." The young member answered kindly toward his senior, and seeing the former's mannerisms made Leorio cringe. Of all the lifestyles to pick, this young boy choose this one, and a part of Leorio's heart wanted to do something to get the boy out of this mess.

Before Leorio could say anything else, the young gang member gasped at his watch, and made a run back to the club's main floor. "C'mon Dops, we can't miss out the fun!" The boy stated out cheerfully, and disappeared into horizon. Seeing that the bags had already went through the dumpster chute, Leorio decided to head out onto the club area, and was welcomed by the colorful disco lights and the sounds of music. Once he reached the crowded dance floor, someone had wrapped their strong arm around his neck, and few seconds later, the person unhook their grip around him melon shaped head. Because of the stranger's strength, the sunglasses that Leorio wore was knocked off his face, and he was on all fours trying to find it. Seeing a tiny blackish blur in front of him, Leorio grabbed the sunglasses off the ground, and turned his attention to the jerk who almost choked him. "What was that about!?" He snapped out angrily, and realized that he was talking to no one, but thin air.

Suddenly, someone swayed their body to a slightly disgruntled Leorio, and it was the bearded gang member, Jiao. The bearded man was dancing with a top heavy dancer, and she gave a playful wink at sharp dressed nineteen year old.

"Dops, don't just stand there, get yourself a drink and break a leg!" Jaio stated, and danced away with his cutie dance partner for the night.

Snapping out of his trance, Leorio strolled off to the bar, and as he ordered himself a drink, he observed the bustling dance floor in front of him. Seeing strangers dance with each other and color lights was an enjoyable sight, but the fact that he was alone with a couple of mafia members dampened his excitement. 'It would be great to bring you guys here,' He said to himself, and he remembered the time he spent with his hunter buddies; Gon Freecs, Killua Zoldyck, and Kurapika. Remembering those fond moments made him chuckle, 'Then again, this place isn't exactly for kids, and Kurapika might not enjoy the lights and sounds. I wonder if Cider knows a place for all of us can enjoy...' He retracted his statement, and he recollected on the info he collected from the gang members.

From what Leorio had learned so far, the Shiao Family are tracking down pages of a cursed book known as, Eyes of Many, and so far, one of the members, Pietre, called off on the investigations of the temp hunter, Cider. While Leorio was pleased that the Shiao Family withdrew from digging info on her, the fact that the latter's former comrade told his buddies to back off was suspicious. Taking a few gulps from his drink, Leorio's ears perked up from the sounds of hands clapping. He turned his attention to the crowded dance floor, and there he saw someone. In the middle of the dance floor was a young woman, who was wearing a glittery yet playful little number, and she looked upset. Something about the gray haired woman felt familiar to him, but because of his heart was beating erratically, he couldn't put his finger on it.

Without him knowing it, the young woman walked over beside him, and she shyly asked for a juice cocktail from the bartender. 'Wow, she's quite a looker...' Leorio told himself, but he tried to resist the urge of ogling at the woman's figure. 'Think about Bambi! T-think about Bambi!' He chanted to himself, but to no avail, his desire to interact with the lady with sculpted legs finally got the best of him.

"Hey there." He greeted the lady warmly.

"A-ah hello," She responded to him shyly, and he could almost feel his heart quivering from hearing the softness of the lady's voice. At that point, Leorio had temporarily forgotten about his crush on his college senior, and continued his interactions with the gray haired woman.

"Nice day today, huh?" She chirped with a smile, and Leorio nodded while he tightly gripped on to his glass.

* * *

**'Stay calm, it maybe your first time at a club, but think of it as going to the Agency Office. Except it has crooks...And your junior is possibly held as hostage.'**

The front of the Soft n Cream club was tightly packed with crowds of people, and many of them were waiting for the bouncer's approval to let them enter the club. All of them were dressed up, but only some of them got the bouncer's attention. The latest outfits and hairstyles are one of the few requirements of getting into the club, but only the best can get in, and the bouncer was quite a picky man. After letting another person into the club, the bouncer turned his attention to the next person in line, and he couldn't help but be fascinated at her. The translucent glittery dress, and the soft blush on the girl's face made his heart flutter, but every time he tried to lock eyes with her, she simply moved her head to opposite direction.

"Well aren't you shy one...Can't really say no to a face like that, you're in kitten." The bouncer stated at a young woman with dusty gray colored hair, and behind her was a woman with light blue colored hair. The bouncer shook his head, "Sorry babe, can't let you in with that lousy blue hair of yours, but a few friends of mine would love to talk to ya." He said in an apologetic tone.

Slowly entering the dance floor, the young woman with gray hair led out a relieved sigh, and she brushed away the strands of fake gray hair from her face. 'That was close.' Cider told herself, and hoped to the gods that the wig she was wearing doesn't fall off. Back at the cafe, Mika suggested to her to buy a wig at the convenience store to avoid suspicion from the mafia members, who are possibly looking for girls that have blue hair.

'My fault on offering to be a test subject for Tsing's hair coloring treatment, but I'm very happy that he made another item for his Luxur line. Though...my hair is stuck in this color, and that test treatment gave me hives.' She thought, and shivered at the memory of being covered in itchy swelling blotches.

"Lady, can you pick up the pace? We're dying to get onto the dance floor here!" Someone heckled behind Cider, and she quickly strutted into the main club area. There she was amazed by how big and shiny this place was. Before, she couldn't get into these type of clubs, but now, she's inside of one, and it was quite a sight. Cider took out her phone, and checked around to see if Leorio was anywhere to be seen. While the photo and text message helped her find the place, it didn't really aid her in finding the nineteen year old. The photo itself was quite busy, and all she could see was Leorio's head being wrapped in the arms of Hisoka. Before she set her foot onto the colorful dance floor, a familiar someone in a fancy dress suit caught her attention, and he was in the middle of the dance floor.

'Da. N. Ce.' She read the clown's lips, and before she knew it, she found herself walking to the center of the dance floor with him. Seeing that it wasn't the time to decline his challenge, the disguised temp hunter decided to humor the striking clown in hopes of finding where Leorio is located at.

Once the club's DJ played another song, the temp hunter felt her body moving to the catchy rhythm, and watched as Hisoka swayed himself close to her. Moving their arms, and legs to the beat of the song, the two were heavily focused on each other's moves, but one of them was averting eye contact. To Cider, it almost felt like she was having a fight with him, but something in her gut told her that this doesn't feel quite right. She should be looking for junior, not dance with some sleazy clown who takes pleasure in messing with others. For a minute or so, she continued to dance with him, and when the song was almost finished playing, she briefly said a word to him.

"Where's Leorio?" Cider asked in a hush tone, and deep down, she couldn't help but be amazed by the jester's dance moves.

"Hmph Hmph~" Hisoka chuckled as a response, and as the song finished playing, the two were welcomed by the sight of people applauding.

Turning her attention to the crowd, Cider glanced around in hopes of finding Leorio in the sea of people, but sadly, he was nowhere to be found. Then she turned her attention to Hisoka, but just like her junior, he was nowhere to be seen. At that moment, the temp hunter not felt lost, but also very lonely. A place like this should be spent with a group of friends, not be spent by your lonesome. Feeling out of place, Cider strutted over to the bar, and stood beside a good looking man, whose clothes looked strangely familiar to her. He wore a pair of sunglasses, and judging from his stature, he didn't look like he was enjoying himself. As she waited for her drink, she took a small glance at the handsome stranger beside her, and accidentally locked eyes with him.

"Hey there." He greeted Cider warmly, and lowered his sunglasses at her, revealing his brown eyes which looked vaguely familiar.

'No, Cider, this isn't the time to feel this way, but it would be very rude of me to not greet him back.' She thought nervously, and gingerly grabbed her drink from the bartender. "A-ah, hello." She responded to him, and took a few sips from her blue cocktail drink. "Nice day today, huh?" Cider inquired to the handsome man, and he responded by giving a swift head nod.

"Mhm, but not as quite nice as you." He stated charmingly, and Cider couldn't help but giggle at his answer.

"O-oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh." She apologized to the cute stranger, who looked like he was about to die from embarrassment. "I think you look nice too. The sunglasses really suits your outfit." Cider answered in an honest tone, and saw the man's facial expression brightening. Seeing the guy's smile made the temp hunter blush, but all she could do right now was smile at him.

"Something wrong?" He asked in a warm yet concerned tone, and she responded with a head shake. "Nah, no need to lie to me." He responded sternly, but his warm tone of voice remained the same.

"Ah, I'm sorry for lying..." Cider responded softly, and she playfully traced her finger on the rim of her cocktail glass. "It's just...I can't seem to find any of my friend in this club, and it's been a while since I last saw him." She muttered, and she felt the weight of the man's stare.

"He sounds like a total jerk." He replied in disgust, and his expression softened a bit. "If it makes you feel better, I can't find my friend either, and I have a feeling she's worried sick of me." He said lightly, and smelt the faint scent of soap lingering in the air.

Cider looked the man with a kindred gaze, "I'm very sorry to hear that...If you like, I can help you find her." She muttered sincerely, and watched as the man's lips formed into a genuine smile.

As another song played in the club, the sunglasses wearing man walked a few inches away from the bar, and extended out his hand toward Cider. "Seeing that we're going to look for our friends, why don't we dance for the time being?" He said to Cider, and she was stunned by his suggestion. She wanted to refuse the man's kind gesture, but something in her heart told her to take this chance. She shyly nodded at him, "J-just for a little bit, okay?" She told him tenderly, and slowly but firmly, she held onto his hand. Once she gripped onto the man's hand, she found herself being whisked off to the dance floor, and from there, the two began to boogie to the rhythm of song.

'This feels...really nice. It's as if my worries are melting away. Is it because of him?' She asked herself, and she continued to dance with the stranger.

"You're quite a dancer!" The sharp dressed man shouted with a playful grin, and Cider smiled at him.

"Thank you." She responded kindly, "You're not so bad yourself!" She told him cheerfully, and she could've sworn she heard a familiar yet a delightful squeal from the man's mouth. 'That's weird, I could've sworn that I heard Leorio's voice from somewhere.' She thought worriedly, but was quickly entranced by the music, and the man's quirky dance moves.

As she danced with the savvy dressed man, Cider couldn't help but feel satisfied. However, she wasn't sure if she should beat herself up for doing this or reassure herself that what she's doing is fine. The temp hunter knew that she had to find Leorio, but she found herself in a losing battle between her mind and her heart. These feelings this guy is making her feel felt surreal, and she can't deny that a part of her will feel sad that these sensations are only temporary. 'Just for a little bit. Just until this song is finished...' She told herself, and as the song was to end, the two exchanged dancing moves with one another. Once the song had finished playing, the two stood in the center of the dance floor, and they deeply looked into each other's eyes. Before anything else could happen, the club's DJ made an announcement.

"HOPE YOU LOVELIES OUT THERE ARE ENJOYING YOURSELVES!" The Club's DJ shouted through the mic, "THIS NEXT SONG IS DEDICATED TO GUY WHO WAS BROUGHT BY HIS FRIENDS! THIS IS FOR YOU PIETRE, BA-BA-BA-BA-BAAAAAAAAABY!"

"Pietre!" Cider and the savvy man with sunglasses both shouted in shock.

As the requested song played throughout the club, Cider slowly backed away from her temporary dance partner. Although this was her chance to confront her former hunter and whom she considered one of her best friends, something in her body told her to leave. "I-I got to go... _I'm so sorry_." She told the man dejectedly, and as much she didn't want to leave him, her anxieties had already took over. Before he could stop her from leaving, Cider had already left the scene, and she felt horrible. Not only she felt guilty of flaking the sweet guy, she also felt stupid of not pursuing Pietre, and wasted her time with her selfish desire instead of using it to find Leorio.

'I'm so stupid!' Cider told herself, but she refrained herself from crying on the dance floor.

* * *

Miles away from the Soft n Cream Club, there was the popular inn known as, Hotel Beitacle, and it's quite a spot for those who want to a quick bite at a fancy restaurant beside the hotel building. Inside the restaurant was Mika, and as she looked through the menu that consisted of pricey fish roe to pastas, she also paid close attention to her phone that was on the table, hoping she got a message or a call from her two caretakers.

_'Remember what you need to do, order some room service, and play some video games, okay?'_

'Whoever trained her in Yorknew, must really like to trouble their employees.' Mika told herself, and saw that her waiter returned to take her order. "Let's see here...Can I have the Cod Roe Pasta, and an orange cream soda?" She asked in a surprisingly polite tone of voice, and once the waiter left, Mika went back to playing 'games' on her phone.

Before she left the 'seedy' cafe with Cider, the latter told the seventeen year old to do something while she was away. The objective that Cider gave Mika was simple, but the way she told her was difficult for her to understand. Just like the messages from the temp hunter's phone, the way Cider spoke was confusing, but thankfully, the temp hunter explained what she was trying to say to her.

_'This is an old method that my hunter comrades used in Yorknew. It's a way for us to relay intel to each other without giving too much information to the opposing side. Certain keywords are placed into the sentences, and from there, we have to decode it to understand it.'_

'I don't really see any temps using that method though...Must be something that her client cooked up.' Mika thought, and carefully thought over Cider's message. The message meant that she should get something to eat and relax, but that would be too obvious. 'Order room service, and play some video games...Order and play. Wait, did she access that 'part' of the Hunter website?' She asked herself, and she carefully punched in a set of codes into her phone.

'Plugging the chip from the license into the phone is dumb, better to dump in the codes manually.'

Mika carefully glared at her surroundings, and took notice that the place was heavily covered with security guards. 'I doubt some bozo is going to attack me for accessing the secret website, but then again, the info in there is said to be very valuable.'

Accessing to the secret part of the Hunter Association's website, the seventeen year old was bombarded with information and ads for bizarre yet very pricey items. 'Why would someone want to buy a lousy game console for that much? They sound like a couple of kids.' She told herself, and as she ignored the game console ad, she scrolled through the image boards in hopes of finding info on the Shiao Family mafia. Twenty minutes of surfing later, Mika's food had arrived, and the smell of shiso leaves and fishiness of the roe made her mouth water.

'Bleugh, it's spicy!' She told herself in disgust, but she continued to eat it. 'It hurts, but it tastes wonderful.' She took a few more chomps of her pasta, and continued browsing her phone with her free hand. 'Hmm...this might be useful.' She stared at her cell phone, and bookmarked the link into her device for later usage. Once she had saved the link into her phone, the device began to rang, and she quickly answered it.

"Hello?" She responded out, and took a few sips of her from her orange cream soda.

"Mika, it's me Leorio." The nineteen year old muttered out, and it almost made the seventeen year old choke.

"L-Leorio!?" Mika shouted out in relief, but her relieved tone was quickly replaced with her normal haughty voice. "Where are you, jerk?! You almost gave me and Cider a heart attack back at the galleria." She snapped at the phone angrily, and heard a nervous chuckle from Leorio.

"It's a long story, and I'll give you and Cider the details back at the hotel." He explained lightly, and Mika placed her drink down onto the table. "Anyway, can you do me a favor and send me directions to Leder's Square. There's something that I want to see there tomorrow." Leorio asked Mika in a nonchalant polite tone.

"Okay then, but please don't try to get yourself killed on the way here." Mika told the nineteen year old, and she was a bit surprised that he wasn't insulting her back. "But seriously, you really gave us a scare there, and I have a feeling Cider's probably still looking for you at that dance club. I think it's called Soft n Cream or something..."

"Yeah I know." Leorio stated, but quickly changed the subject to avoid more trouble from the flighty blonde. "Uh ah, anyway, I'm actually near that club, so I'll pick her up. Don't worry about us getting into a fight with the Shiao guys, we'll be fine~!" He shouted through the phone, and swiftly hung up the phone.

"Uh..." Mika muttered out confusedly, and placed her phone down onto the table. 'I didn't even mention Shiao...' She shrugged off her suspicions, and continued eating her meal. 'I wish those two hurried up...'

* * *

**'I can't believe it...that was really Cider.'**

Hanging up his cell phone, Leorio was astonished by what had just happened to him. The woman that he danced with, it was none other than his bumbling senior, Cider. 'No, wonder why she felt so familiar...' He thought, and lowered his gaze toward his hand, which was formerly held by her When he looked at his hand, the med student recalled how soft her skin was, and the way that she smiled. Comparing to her contorted and sometimes hilarious expressions, the smiles that she had a few moments ago was notably pleasant. 'W-wait what I am thinking?!' He told himself, and he felt his chest tightening.

As he pictured the moments of the temp hunter smiling genuinely, Leorio remembered the haunted expression on her face when her former comrade was mentioned through the speakers. The look on her face reminded him of his friends that he cared for, and his desire to help them with their own issues.

_'I-I got to go...I'm so sorry.'_

'She looked so unhappy there...I gotta find her!' He told himself, and walked off to the main entrance of the club. At that point, the nineteen year old wasn't thinking straight, and didn't seem to care if one of the mafia members saw him leave the club empty handed. Safely exiting out of the club, Leorio went into the back of the building to grab his shopping bags from the dumpster, and replaced some parts of his club wardrobe with parts of his old suit. 'It's best that she doesn't know that was me back there, though I am kinda curious on what happened to the real Dopple... Oh whatever, that guy is probably sleeping around.'

Grabbing his belongings that faintly smelt of rubbish, Leorio walked through the bustling night streets of Yorknew while on his phone. Before he replied to a text message on his device, he noticed there was an open entrance way to huge park, and there he decided to take a short through the park. Walking along the illuminated pathway, the nineteen year old turned his attention to one of the benches. There he saw Cider, who had just removed her high heels, and beside her was a gray tuff of hair. Quietly, Leorio slowly sneaked closer to where she was sitting, and once he was close enough, he led out a cough.

When she heard the cough, Cider turned her head, and her eyes were widened by the sight of Leorio. In her hand was her phone, and it looked like she was calling someone from Waldhalle, which is most likely to be Autumns on the other line.

_"This better be important Meiming, it's 3 AM in the morning! Hello!? Hello?!"_

"Yo." He said with a calm smile, and suddenly found himself being embraced by his senior.

"You're okay!" Cider shouted in relief as she dropped her phone onto the ground, and dug her face close to junior's clothed torso. "I'm sorry that you were alone all this time! I really did look for you at the club, but I screwed up! I'm so sorry!"

Smelling the faintness of her perfume, Leorio sighed softly, and he lightly petted the top of his senior's head. "Hey, what did I say about that apologizing habit of yours? It's alright, you did your best."

"My best wasn't enough...If anything happened to you or to anyone, I couldn't forgive myself." She mumbled through his shirt, and he felt something wet forming on his chest.

"Nothing bad happened to me, right? So no need to cry." He reassured her kindly, "So don't worry, everything's alright." He told her warmly, and Cider slowly pulled away from his chest. There he saw that the girl's eyes were watering, her cheeks were flushed red, and there was a small strand of clear mucus leaking out of her nose. Taking out the handkerchief from his blazer, he gave it to Cider to wipe her tears with. Once she calmed down, the two quietly went on their way to the Beitacle Hotel, but as they walked alongside with one another, Cider couldn't help but notice that the sunglasses that Leorio was wearing looked like the same pair as the guy she danced with.

'Could it really be him?' She thought, and felt that her heart was bouncing in her chest. 'Nah, it can't be...'

* * *

See you guys in the next chapter!

Notes-

-*40000 Jenny - Equivalence to $386

*Gourd tea - Based off on the tea beverage known as, Yerba Mate, which you share one gourd with other people, but remember to always return the gourd to the server after you took a drink!


	15. Lost Time Memory

Hello there, everyone! Here's another chapter of WxB, and I hope you guys enjoy it. Also, reviews/favs/alerts/feedback/ect. are always deeply appreciated, and thank you guys so much for sticking around.

**Notes: **Imgur album is updated, so take a look if you like!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Hunter x Hunter, artwork used for the covers, references, or any songs that will be used in the story.

**Songs: **Title of the Chapter/Fight scene: Lost Time Memory by Jin feat. Kouta Matsuyama (From the song series, Kagerou Project)

-Radio: Jaded by Aerosmith

-Wasurete Ita Fuukei From Hunter x Hunter (1999) OST

-Festival: Kimino Shiranai Monogatari by Supercell

-Affection from JJBA Battle Tendency OST

-"Baseball!": TO-MO-DA-CHI from the Hunter x Hunter (2011) OST

-What Cider and someone else is singing: Aogeba Toutoshi (also known as the Japanese Graduation Ceremony song)

-Night Light by Yumi Rose

-Drop by Ironomi

-Can't Say Goodbye to Yesterday (Piano Version) by Rika Muranaka

* * *

"Hey c'mon, Gunther! Toss the ball already!"

"Alright, go long then Spuds!"

At a disclosed area located far away in Yorknew's ocean, there was a military base that was partly owned by the Association, and currently being used by a Contract Hunter, Kharon Stycs. On top of a military base, a small group of Hunters were having lunch together, and two of them were playing catch as the clouds in the bright blue sky pass overhead. As the majority of the group watched two of their friends play catch, one of them was trying to fix the radio while holding a glass bottle full of cola. The person who was 'fixing' the radio was a tanned burly man, and after whacking the thing and getting scolded by one of his comrades for hitting the device, the radio finally played a song for the group.

The tanned burly man placed his empty soda bottle onto the ground, "Heheh, now we're talking! Hey Amalia, wanna dance?" A tanned burly man asked his female comrade with a smile, but she quickly rejected his advances.

"As if I'll dance with you, Ikaros." The woman in her early 20s snapped at him lightly while crossing her arms. "Why don't you ask the rookie, *****?" Amalia suggested with a mischievous smile, and turned her attention to a young girl who had her brown hair tied into a side pony tail.

**"...? ...!? ...!"**

Amalia giggled at the young rookie's jittery reaction, "Hey c'mon, no need to get flustered! I can see why your blushing though, after all, you were ogling at Commander Kharon when he was removing his shirt during your laps."

"Knock it off, Amalia. You're gonna make ***** choke on her sandwich."

Standing beside the pony tailed girl was a boy who was two years older than the former, and his hair was slicked into a small pompadour. The nineteen year old boy, Pietre, began to playfully tease his senior, Amalia, and after giving her an earful of flirtatious words, her cheeks began to turn red. The rest of the group watched as two argued with each other, and the burly man Ikaros led out a vexing "Oh my god." Before things become a little too hectic, the young rookie spoke up, and she found herself being stared by her seniors.

**"... ... ... ..."**

Pietre furrowed his brow at the rookie, "The reason you were ordered to do a sixty laps around the base was because you kicked the commander?"

**"... ...! ... ... ... ... ... ...!"**

"And the reason you kicked him in the first place was because he had a huge spider on his back?" Pietre repeated the rookie's words, and moments later, he along with the other hunters burst out in laughter.

**"... ..."**

"Hahaha! Think of it this way *****," The tanned muscular man, Ikaros, said to the rookie with a hearty grin. "You killed three birds with one stone; Not only you prevented the Commander from going to the infirmary, you also got the chance to see him shirtless, and you gained some muscle for those dainty legs of yours."

The last twenty minutes of lunchtime consisted of laughter, jokes, exchanging gossip, and playing catch with each other. As the last minutes of lunch flew by, the group slowly dispersed, and all that was left was the two youngest Hunters, who were assigned to pick up the trash from lunch. As he collected the empty soda bottles, Pietre watched as the rookie sorted out the burnables and the recyclables, and began to strike a conversation with her.

**"... ... ... ... ..."**

"And what, leave you with all credit for cleaning up this mess? Man, you really are a goody toe-shoes!" He teased the girl with a cheeky grin, and he watched as she modestly waved her hand at him.

**"... ... ... ... ... ..."**

"Ay don't sweat it, this type of crap ain't hogging up my time." He reassured the girl sternly, and he tossed another bottle into a trash bag. "Besides, I ain't up to seeing your cute face back in the infirmary the 16th time." He joked again with a grin still plastered on his face, and watched as the rookie waved her hand at him again.

**"... ...! ... ... ... ... ... ..."**

"Haha, don't remind me, I still can't believe that you got sent into the infirmary because of the huge fish for last week's dinner slapped you in the face." He stated with a laugh. "But seriously, try not to get sent back into the infirmary again." He pleaded lightly to the rookie, and she swiftly nodded her head to him.

While Pietre may never fully admitted it, he was fond of talking to the rookie, and came to enjoying the girl's company at the base. However, this liking took some time to grow, and from the beginning, the pompadour boy found the rookie to be a nuisance. The first time she set foot on the military base, Pietre already found the girl's gentle demeanor to sweet for his tastes. In his perspective, there was this air around her that made him want to gag, and the fact she got to work at the base because of Kharon's wingman, Cherie Lorandera, liked her didn't settle with him or with other hunters and staff at base. Even though the rookie had proven herself to be as competent as the other hunters assigned at that base, the boy was still convinced that the temp hunter was just nothing but an apple-polisher, whose only purpose at the base was to do mindless paperwork, mundane jobs like cleaning toilets, and being a meat shield for full-fledged hunters. Eventually, this dislike for the rookie came to a halt, and it was because of an old job in Swaldani City. On that assignment, Kharon and three of his temporary crew were ordered to retrieve data files from small crime lord known as, Sweet Ruth.

On the night of that assignment, Pietre alongside the rookie, Kharon, and Cherie found themselves ambushed by Sweet Ruth's thugs. Thankfully, they managed to turn the tables around on her, and that gave them an advantage against the criminal. However, things almost didn't end well for the pompadour boy on the day. Due to his cockiness, he was stuck inside a burning building and was pinned down by one of Ruth's nasty bodyguards. Before it was lights out permanently for Pietre, someone had came to his aid, and as he slowly passed out from the smoke, his savior ran to his aid.

**"!"**

Everything went black for him at that point, and few hours later, he woke up to find himself in a private hospital room. As he got his wounds treated and got a stern lecture from one of his commanding officers, he noticed someone a few beds away from him. Across from him was the rookie, who was partly wrapped in bandages, and was mumbling things in her sleep.

"You're quite lucky," Kharon's wingman, Cherie, stated to him under her breath. "If she wasn't there at that time, you would have been a rotisserie spider eagle by now. Though it's very idiotic of her to take down someone big like that on her own and without fully mastering her hatsu... Which is something that you have trouble with as well." She continued her talk with Pietre, and watched as his sullen expression became mixed with guilt.

From then on, Pietre's hatred for the rookie had subsided, and slowly, they gradually became the best of friends. Although their odd friendship surprised a lot of people back at the base and was the talk for many during recesses, the pompadour boy didn't really care.

"So you never graduated with your high school buddies back at Baotai?" Pietre asked the rookie, and he watched as she threw a couple of crumpled up food wrappers into a trash bag. "I'm kinda surprised. I was expecting you to have a perfect school life full of admirers and everything." He stated out loud, and he saw that the rookie was shaking her head.

**"... ... ... ... ... ... ... ..."**

"...tch." Pietre snapped lightly at the rookie's answer, and from hearing the rookie's honest yet shameless words, his expression towards the rookie had softened.

**"...? ... ... ... ...?"**

"Nah, nothing." The nineteen year old shrugged it off, and he lit himself a cigarette. "C'mon, let's finish up cleaning here." He breathed out a circle of smoke into the air, and watched as it slowly dissipated into the sky. "By the way Cider, do you mind if we practiced our hatsus later?" He asked the rookie in a friendly tone, and saw the rookie's face brighten with a gleeful smile.

**_"Not at all!"_**

**, , , , , , , ,**

Somewhere in a dark broken-down room, a young man with his hair slicked back crept out of the shadows, and he slowly walked over to someone on the opposite side of the room. The walls of the room was covered with worn out posters and maps, and there was a shelf that had torn up books and jars of human organs on display. A putrid smell lingered in the air, and indescribable sounds emitting from the opposite side rang the man's ears. What the stranger was doing was revolting, but somewhere in the guy's heart, he felt sympathy for the person.

"As of now, only 1/2 of the book is missing." The man explained to the stranger who was wearing a silk blue blazer, and there he noticed his boss' pants were soaked in crimson liquid. However, he wasn't fazed by the sight of blood that was forming underneath his boss' feet, and he continued his conversation with him. "I've already done research on the temp hunters who participated in the trade-off in Waldhalle, and none of their records show that they have any of those pages."

"What about the whereabouts of that Hiroko fellow?"

"All of his records were hidden from the Association Database, so as of now his current status is unknown."

"What about the hunter that was working with him at that time?"

The slick back haired man remained composed, "From what Dopple had found about her, she's simply a lowly pencil pusher temp whose on a business trip in this city. So at the end of it, the investigation on her was moot, but Dopple's findings on the Association did bare some fruit. I will send you that information at a later time. "

"I see." The stranger muttered out in a wispy yet feminine tone, and he slowly turned around to gaze upon their trusted right hand man. As he turned around, he revealed to his cohort that his clothed slender body was covered in splotches of blood. He hoped for a reaction from cohort, but the latter's face remained the same. Unwavering violet eyes, and a composed face that showed some of the man's handsome face structure, it both enticed and intrigued the bloody stranger all at the same time. However, those feelings were quickly replaced with irritation and anger, but he masked those ill feelings with a soft yet eerie smile. The book he strongly desired was still incomplete, and an excruciating ache was forming all over his body.

"**_Arugh_**..." The stranger groaned softly in the shadows, and that caught his cohort's attention.

"You're not feeling well." The slick haired man stated bluntly, and he watched as his boss' smile faded away. "Why don't you go read that book of yours and go to sleep?" He suggested lightly, and while he couldn't full see his boss' face in the shadows, he knew he was glaring daggers at him.

Continuing to lock eyes with his boss, the slick back haired man noticed something behind his boss' back. No doubt it was a person, but sadly, they were wrapped in a saran wrap like substance and just like the sounds from before, their body was grotesque and their skin was a sickly shade of gray. Seconds after seeing that abomination made his heart sink, and though he had a composed expression still glued onto his face, the slick haired man wanted to vomit.

The stranger noticed his cohort's brow was twitching, and a smirk formed on his lips. "It seems that I didn't have to do this to Dopple and his little play-thing after all, what a shame... He was quite playful with the ladies, just like that tanned man back in Zaban City..." The stranger said with a fake saddened tone, and he slowly savored every ounce of pleasure that he could find from his cohort's soured face. Then the feminine stranger shrugged his shoulders lightly, "Then again, Dopple was in cahoots with the York Nine gang, so just like you and the rest of other lot, he's expendable. "

Not wanting to stay any longer, the man left his boss with his own vices, and as he dashed through an empty dingy hallway, he stopped in front of a sealed window. The orange tinged color from the window indicated that the sun was setting, and as he felt the smoldering heat emitting from the window glass, the man decided that he needed some fresh air.

"_Hmm~ hmm~ hm hm hmmm~_"

Humming a familiar tune, the suited man walked along the busy sidewalks of Yorknew, and carefully passed through the crowds of people. Judging by his surroundings, the man realized that there was a Summer festival in one of Yorknew's districts, Little Japon, and some of the people who were attending to the festivals were all dressed up in colorful cotton robes. Seeing that he had nothing to do, and didn't feel like going to his regular obscure cafe spot or a dance club, the man decided to take a detour through Little Japon.

As he walked through the closed street of the area, the man observed each food and game stalls that was lined up along the street. All the stalls were crowded to some degree, but no one seem to be in no rush of getting what they want. Before he continued to enjoy the festive scenery, he suddenly felt a hand patting his back, and there he saw a little boy blowing a pink gum bubble.

"What's up kid? Lost your mom or something?" The man asked roughly, and the little boy pointed at the stall that was beside the former's body.

The stall beside the suited man was a simple shooting range game, and whatever the person struck down with a toy bullet was their prize. Seeing that the kid was eyeing at a stuffed long eared blue bird on the stall's shelf, the man gave out a sigh, and he placed down a 100 Jenni bill down onto the counter. Many tries later, the suited man was at his last bullet, and as he steadied his aim with the stall's toy rifle, he breathed in deeply.

_"Remember the basics of our nen training, okay? **Balance** out your flaws, and **wonder** out the possibilities."_

'Balance is key. Wonder is good.' He whispered in his head, and he squeezed the trigger.

A moment later at the game stall, a young woman with pink hair came running to the boy, who was buried in a pile of stuff toys. "Peanut! What did I say about wandering away from me?" The girl scolded her little brother, who was still chewing bubblegum, and before the former continued to lecture him, she noticed the stuff toys around him. "Where did you get all of these?" She asked curiously, and the little boy pointed at the suited man who was apologizing to the owner of the stall. There the pink haired girl noticed a crater sized hole inside the game stand, and she tilted her head in confusion.

Before she could ask her sibling about the hole, the suited man walked over to them, and crouched down to the little pink haired boy. "Here ya go, kid. Sorry about the wait." The man apologized with a smile, and handed the boy the stuffed bird that he wanted. As the boy began to play with his new stuff animal, the suited man turned his attention to the boy's older sibling.

The pink haired sibling blushed slightly at the man, "I'm very sorry about my brother! I hope he wasn't a bother to you..."

"Don't worry about it, the kid got guts, and I can see where he got it from." He said with a warm smile, and there in the distance, he saw a familiar woman at a nearby stall, but she was not alone. Alongside the female stranger was a tall man who was wearing a robot mask, and the latter was waving a tiny cell phone strap jokingly at the girl's awkward smiling face.

"Ah, that must be Cider!" The pink haired girl shouted in delight, and the man's eyes widened slightly by hearing that name. "And she's not alone... but who is she with? I never seen him before..." She muttered out loud.

Not wanting to stay at the area for too long, the suited man quickly said his goodbyes to the pink haired siblings, and walked back to where he started. Deep down he didn't want to leave, but he knew that if the blue haired woman ever saw his face again, she would want to kill him. However, his heart was telling him otherwise, which made him wish that he didn't have one. Before he completely left Little Japon, someone lightly tugged the bottom of his shirt. It was the little boy, and in his hand was a colorful candy package called, Bubble Bubble Fizz.

"Here, for you mister!" The boy said with a smile, and the man kindly accepted his gift.

"Thanks little man... You know, if you continue to treat others like this, you'll be popular with the girls in no time." The man explained to the pink haired boy, and he gave him a small gentle pat on the head. Walking away from the boy, the suited man tightly held onto the bubble wand toy that was stashed away in his pocket.

"_Hmm~ hmm~ hm hm hmmm~_"

* * *

"Alright Mika...You got this."

"A-are you sure that you want to do this in that getup, Mika?"

"Just shut up and throw the ball already Gorilla!"

Somewhere in the middle of Yorknew's huge parkland, Midway Park, the haughty seventeen year old, Mika, was holding a plastic bat, and she was playing a _friendly_ game of baseball with the nineteen year old, Leorio. Alongside the two were a bunch of kids, who also wanted to participate in the game. The children ran into their positions, and carefully watched the batter's movements.

'Ok, let's see here.' Leorio carefully looked at the pint size umpire's hand signals, and silently chatted with the umpire. 'Man, it's hot as hell out here!' He grumbled to himself, and sweat beads began to form on his brow.

Although they didn't mind playing baseball with the children, both Leorio and Mika admitted that they were under-dressed for this occasion. Both of them didn't expect the weather report on TV to be 100% accurate. From what they recalled, there will be a scorching heat wave throughout this week, and after that, there's a possibility of showers somewhere in a few days. The nineteen year old wiped the sweat off his forehead, and he wondered how he got himself in this situation. After a short moment, he remembered that he was the one that suggested to go to Yorknew's famous park, and then he recalled that there was a bunch of reasons why he was playing baseball right now. His reason to play baseball? Because he thought it was fun, and the little tykes were short on players. As for Mika's reason; she was urged by the two older hunters that she needed to play something that didn't require an electronic device, and she considered it as a challenge.

Leorio loosened up his tie, "Alright Mika, here's the pitch!"

Once he threw the ball towards the sweaty Mika, the girl swung the bat with all her might, and the ball simply rolled away from the first basemen. Completely dumbfounded, Mika stood still, but the kids at the field and Leorio shouted "Go to first!". The seventeen year old trotted over to a base, but Leorio and the children shook their head nervously at the scene. "NO! NO! THE OTHER WAY! RUN THE OTHER WAY!" The spiky haired fellow shouted at Mika, and along with the other kids, they swayed their arms to the first base. Utterly confused, Mika turned her direction to the first base, and before she could touch the base with her foot, the basemen softly tapped the ball on her hind leg.

"You're out!" The little boy muttered lightly, and as he blew a bubble from his chewed gum, Mika lightly sighed in defeat.

Before the kids and the two teenagers played another round of baseball, the group noticed a bunch of familiar shadows walking in the distance. Entering the field was a set of adults along with a group of kids, who were delightfully screaming out, "Ice cream!". Turning his head to the happy screams, Leorio saw Cider walking alongside with one of her colleagues from dance class. The kids that were with the adults ran to the field with a medium sized disposable cooler filled with frozen treats.

,,,,

After distributing the ice candy to the group of kids and the adults, a girl with pink hair known as, Pez, bowed toward the two hunters and their seventeen year old girl that was tagging along with them. While Pez was a classmate of Ciders', she was surprised by the fact that she was friends with students who were studying at the Glyzinen Hall in Schadel University back in Waldhalle. In truth, Pez considered her awkward classmate as a loner, but seeing that her classmate has friends of her own, she was very much relieved by it.

"Thank you guys for watching over my little brother and his friends. I hope they weren't any trouble!" A girl with cotton pink hair muttered in delight, and she pulled her soft serve cone away from her sibling's grubby hands that was sticky with bubblegum.

"No problem," Leorio said with a modest smile, "A friend of Ciders' is a friend of ours." He explained.

Hearing the spiky haired teenager's response made pink haired girl smile, "Hahaha! Aren't you a gentleman? I'm still surprised that you're just a year older than me. At first, I thought you were some old sleaze ball who was harassing Cider at the firework festival."

"Nah, don't sweat it. I get that a lot..._unfortunately_." Leorio mumbled the last word, and felt slightly dejected by it.

Seeing a discouraged grin on Leorio's face, Cider entered the conversation by changing the topic to something that both she and her classmate can talk about. "That reminds me Pez, did you replace your pair of ballet shoes before the recital?" The temp hunter asked curiously, and Pez's eyes shot open with fright.

"O-oh no! That totally slipped my mind today, and I have dinner with my folks tonight!" Pez shouted in fright, "I may have some time tomorrow to pick my order, but..." She twiddled her fingers nervously, and Cider noticed her classmate's cheeks turning red.

"Ah, say no more." Cider stated in an understanding tone, "I'll pick up your order tonight, and deliver it to you at the hotel where the dance class is staying at." She explained to Pez with a natural smile, which slightly caught the latter alongside Leorio and Mika off guard.

Exchanging a few more words for the day, Pez alongside her brother and his friends said their goodbyes to the three, and they went off together into the city. Waving her final goodbyes for today, Cider turned her attention to Leorio, and a suspicious looking Mika.

"Hm? Is something wrong, Mika?" Cider asked politely, and suddenly found herself being pointed by Mika with a muskmelon flavored ice bar.

"W-who are you, and what did you do to my caretaker these last few days!?" She shouted with a slight glare, and she suddenly felt someone lightly bonking her head.

Jokingly tapping the seventeen year old's head, Leorio sighed lightly at her, "I think this heat finally got to your brain, Mika. Why don't you relax a bit, and review a bit on your baseball strategy?" He asked in a calm yet stern voice, and saw the seventeen year old sulking a bit.

Even though she had a fun time playing baseball with the kids, Mika was a tiny bit disappointed in herself that she lost. In the beginning, she really didn't want to play a game that required physical attributes, but after being coaxed by an overly eager med student, and a very patient temp hunter, Mika took up the challenge. While she did enjoyed the strategy part of the game, she felt that her physical endurance/stamina and coordination was inadequate. Despite her shortcomings, both teams along with the two Hunters were nice to give her instructions on what to do.

However, something was bugging the blonde teenager, and it may of had something to do with the day that Leorio went missing. A week and a half after the incident, both her and Leorio were given a small tour of Yorknew by Cider, and surprisingly, the tour was fun. From walking across the famous Looklyn Bridge to having a meal at Serpentine Tois, the bumbling Temp Hunter had somehow managed to show Mika, and Leorio of what treasures that Yorknew gave to tourists. But during those days, Mika had noticed that her caretaker's smiles were less forced than usual, and she also found that her mannerisms were less awkward and stiff. Another thing that she noticed was Leorio, who would now sometimes space out, and his mentions of his crush, Bambi, was reduced to a minimal. Because of these sudden alterations, Mika had speculated that recent changes were either caused by body snatching aliens or, something had happened to them in the Soft n Cream Club. The teenager believed that it had something to do with the latter, but due to watching too many alien movies, she also held onto to her first theory about body snatching UFOs.

Shrugging off her beliefs of her caretakers being replaced by reptilian Martians, Mika led out an exasperated sigh, "Uwaaaah~ And my team was almost winning too... And by two measly points too!" Mika shouted low-spiritedly, and wiped the sweat forming on her forehead. "My team will definitely win next time!" She told herself with a determined smile.

"That's the spirit." Cider replied kindly at Mika's response, and as she got herself an ice pop from the disposable cooler, she suddenly heard someone cursing under their breath.

Turning her attention to Leorio, she saw that the nineteen year old was glaring at his ice pop which half of it had splattered onto the concrete. Still having a wrapped ice candy in her hand, Cider offered it to the guy in exchange for the broken one. Hearing her offer, Leorio narrowed his eyes at her, and continued to hold the broken popsicle in his hand.

"Who are you?" He asked in a wary tone, and his question confused the temp hunter slightly.

"Cider Meiming." She answered honestly, and watched as her junior took the wrapped ice candy from her. "And don't worry, since Pez and me really went overboard with the ice cream sale at the Duwang Wall store, there's still a bunch left in the cooler for us to eat."

"Thanks, but you know Cider..." Leorio unwrapped the icy treat from its wrapper, and before he could say anything bad about her overly kind gestures, he remembered the time they spent at the club. To this day, the nineteen year old was still stunned by the events that occurred at the Soft n Cream club, and aside from giving details of what the Shiao gang was up to, Leorio has not said a word about being incognito and inadvertently danced with Cider, who was also in disguise as well. 'My heart is still beating every time I think about the club...' He thought to himself, and as much as he tried to suppress those recent memories of the club's lights and music, he ended up fondly looking back at them. As he recalled the moment that he danced with her and how she smiled, he them remembered her horrified expression at the dance floor and the way she was crying when he found her at the park. "You better eat that one quick before it falls off the stick." He finished his sentence, and watched as the temp hunter fumbled over the broken popsicle.

"O-oh right!" The temp hunter noticed that the treat was already melting, and she began to eat chomp at the colored ice block.

As they continued to snack on the frozen ice treats at a bench, Leorio drifted into his thoughts and memories. 'You said that if anything happened to me or to anyone again, you wouldn't forgive yourself...' He recollected to himself, 'What do you mean again?' Leorio asked Cider in his mind, and deep down he wished he could ask her about it. However, he had a feeling that she'll just simply downplay her answer, and never speak the fullest details of what occurred in her past. The nineteen year old felt his chest tightening, and as he sank deeper into this thoughts, he heard a voice calling him out in the distance.

"Hey Gorilla, your ice pop is melting!" A familiar flighty tone snapped him out of his funk, and he realized that his was soaked in sugary soda flavored syrup.

"Huh? Aww crap!" Leorio shouted to himself, and shoved the popsicle in his mouth. Gulping down a mouthful of melting ice, a sharp freezing pain struck his cranium, and he quickly placed his thumb on the roof of his mouth. As he was recovering from his brain freeze, Leorio then listened to his senior, who was surprisingly telling story about the time that she worked in the city. "This is going to be good." He said, and lightly gnawed on the popsicle stick. "Got anymore stories about Amalia or Cherie? Kharon must be a lucky man to have Cherie as his wingman." The nineteen year old said with a wide smile.

"Uhh, let's see..."

"No way!" Mika disagreed loudly, "I want to hear more about Ikaros or Kharon, they sound so manly."

The blue haired woman chuckled at the duo's responses, "How about I tell you the time when I was assigned to do a supply check at the base?" She suggested, and both agreed unwillingly to it. "Okay, it all started on August..."

For the past week, the blue haired temp would sometimes tell small stories about her work to the two teens. From what Cider told them, she was hired to do intel and other miscellaneous work for a contract Hunter, Kharon Stycs, who subsequently was hired to do work for the Hunter Association branch in Yorknew City. At that time, she alongside Kharon and the hunters that he hired resided at a military base that he temporarily owned for a year and six months.

"Unfortunately, I got the shortest straw from the bunch, so I ended up being stuck with cleaning and supply duties for the whole day." Cider continued with her story, "Wait a minute, Ikaros' straw was green instead of red like the others, he cheated!" She realized, and the two snickered at the girl's sudden realization that her former senior got out of his duties for that day.

Listening to Cider speak about things from her past made Leorio smile, and he contently listened to every word she spoke. A month ago, Cider barely made a peep about herself nor gave the fullest details about her life in Yorknew, but now, she's opening herself and is willing to talk about some of her pleasant memories of the city. Though she wasn't talking about the gritty stuff of her history yet, and would stumble a bit in her speech when she mentions a certain name, it was a nice change of pace that she's talking about herself.

Cider snorted a bit, "So before I sorted out the crates outside of the base, I noticed a hairy thing on my Commander's back, and there, I saw a huge spider crawling on him. Pfft, s-sorry give me a sec," The Temp Hunter told the two while she calmed herself from breaking out in laughter, "A-anyway, I panicked and I sprinted across the field, and without thinking, I just kicked my Commander onto the ground just to kill the thing. And you know what he told me after that?"

_"Arrggghh my back, C-Cider you nimrod, that spider wasn't even poisonous!** SIXTY LAPS AROUND THE BASE NOOOOOOW**!"_

"After that, I just ran around the base, which now that I think about it, running in long distances is way better than writing down the amount of toilet paper and stomach medicine we had for that entire month. Not to mention, since Ikaros a-and P-Pietre was assigned to dinner duties, those crates full of toilet paper and medicine ended up being used on that day. Good thing I chose the pasta over the chili."

Once she had finished up her sentence, Cider was welcomed by the sounds of laughter from Leorio, and she noticed Mika was trying to refrain herself from cracking up. Finally calming down from laughing, Leorio wiped off the beads of sweat forming above his brow, and checked the time on his cell phone. After that, he stashed his phone away from his pocket, and grabbed another soda flavored popsicle in the cooler.

"I'm gonna walk around the city for a bit. I'll catch you guys back at the hotel later tonight, okay? " Leorio explained and slung his jacket over his shoulder.

Cider nodded her head, "Alright, but if you ever get lost or need a taxi, don't hesitate to call me or Mika. Stay safe." She told him kindly with a smile.

"Y-yeah... I will."

Feeling his already flushed cheeks turning redder, Leorio furrowed his brow, and averted eye-contact from his senior. Once he left the park, Mika and Cider continued to sat together on the bench while eating the last remaining ice pops. Playfully swinging her legs, Mika stared at the orange sky, and she began to hum a melody that one of her former mentors taught her as a kid.

"_Hmm~ hmm~ hm hm hmmm~_"

Listening to the familiar hummed melody, Cider began to *sang poorly to it, "_I've learned from you the right way to do what must be_ _done~ Now it's time to say farewell with an eternally grateful heart~_"

Mika cringed a bit from her caretaker's voice, but then she took notice of the nostalgic expression on the woman's face. "Your singing is terrible..." She muttered half-heartedly, and continued to eat her ice cream.

Cider giggled softly, "Hahah, yeah I know... Sorry about that." The temp hunter apologized with a meek smile, and she stared quietly at the orange sky.

"Uhuh." Mika chirped out in a curious tone, and saw that she was still staring at the sky. " So, does that graduation song and the sky...remind you of that Pietre guy? We're you two like lovey dovey classmates or something?" She asked bluntly, and watched as Cider shook her head rapidly.

"Oh, no, no , no, he's just a..." Cider's smile slowly faded a bit, and quietly watched as the last part of her melting popsicle fall onto the ground. "I'm sorry... I can't really finish that sentence. I'll try to answer that next time..." She apologized with a shameful chuckle.

Once she heard her apology, Mika's snooty expression had softened slowly, and with a nod, she forgave her. Once the orange skies darkened into a deep shade of blue, the two girls head on their way to pick up a pair of ballet slippers from a shoe store. As they entered a small shoe shop, Mika drew out her cell phone, and on her phone's screen was directions to a place called, Leder's Square, which was known to be an abandoned part of the city.

'Gorilla's been sneaking out to that area for the last few days... I wonder if he found something there.' The blondie asked herself, and watched as Cider picked up her colleague's new pair of shoes from the shopkeeper. 'Even if he did find anything, it's very stupid of him of not wanting to tell Cider about it, and more foolish of him for convincing me to not tell her about what he's doing either...'

* * *

On the farthest parts of Yorknew, there was another was a town that consisted of tall decaying structures. This area was known as Leder's Square, and the reason the town was called that was because there was a huge vacant public square in the middle of the town. Although the place was said to be completely abandoned, a small populace of people still lived within that area.

"That'll be 69 Jenni," A taxi driver told his customer, and the latter gave him the said amount of currency. "Nah, don't pay me yet kid, just pay me the full amount when I bring you back to the main city as usual. But don't stay out there for too long, or you'll end up losing an organ!" He said to his spiky haired customer with a scratchy cough, and he lit himself a cigar.

"I'll keep that in mind, thanks." Leorio said to the driver, and he casually walked away from the taxi that was parked near a working light post. Walking along the empty sidewalks, the nineteen year old carefully glanced at his surroundings that was tainted by the sunset's orange color. A second later, he took out a folded piece of paper, and unfolded it to reveal a decently drawn map of the town. 'Okay, I checked the main plaza...and no one can get in or out of the metro station, so the next areas to check is... the Carny Bob's Amusement Park or Koney Island Boardwalk.' He thought over his decisions, and quickly decided to check the boardwalk. 'I doubt he's at the amusement park, but I am **not **taking chances right now!' The spiky haired teenager told himself, and shivered at the thought of encountering a colorful yet creepy jester in the decaying amusement park.

For the past week, Leorio had been secretly going out to Leder's Square in hopes of finding something or someone. When he was believed to be one Shiao's gang members, one of the members had given him information about the gang's recent activities. The entire Shiao family were searching for the pages of a book called, Eyes of Many, and one of the head leaders of the gang had ordered the rest of the group to back off from following Cider. After that incident, Leorio told Cider about what the mafia was doing, but to spare the senior from the stress and the awkwardness, he didn't say anything about Pietre calling off the search nor say that he was the one that she danced with. However, Leorio not told Mika about Pietre and going to Leder's Square to do some sleuthing, but he also begged the seventeen year old to keep it a secret between them.

'Wow, is it that dark already?' Leorio asked himself, and noticed the sky was a mixture of orange and dark blue. Not wanting to worry his blue haired senior, Leorio had decided to call it a day, and search around the empty boardwalk later tomorrow. Before he went back to where the taxi was parked, he saw something translucent floating in the air. 'Bubbles?' He thought to himself, and turned to the direction to where the bubbles were coming from. Standing near the railing of the boardwalk was a young man wearing wool slacks, and he had his blazer neatly placed on the railing. He was soaked to the bone, and his damp medium length hair was all over the place.

'I guess the boardwalk isn't as deserted as I thought it would be, but isn't he a bit too old to blow bubbles?' Leorio told himself, and watched as the man blew a few more soapy orbs into the air.

"Hey gramps." The man blurted out to Leorio, who jumped a bit from his sudden response. "If you're looking for the business district, you're way far off course." He explained roughly to the nineteen year old, and dipped the tip of his bubble blower straw into a tiny plastic cup.

"Oh thanks, but I'm not actually lost- HEY! Don't call me gramps, punk! I'll have you know that I'm still a teenager!" Leorio snapped back at the man with a growl.

"Aw, my bad." The man apologized briefly, and proceeded to blow bubbles again. Then he began to cringe, "Bleh." He muttered, and stuck out his tongue in disgust.

"You might want to rinse your mouth out with water, and there is a working clean water fountain a few blocks from here." Leorio suggested to the man, but the latter shook his head.

"I think I already had enough water from that stupid thing thank you very much." The man replied to Leorio's suggestion, but quickly regretted his sudden harshness to the teen. "Sorry, I just had a shitty time back at work, and the fountain messed up my do... Crap, I'm blabbering again. Look, I didn't mean to lash out on ya gramp- I mean... Geez, I'm sorry." He blubbered out an apology, and bowed slightly toward Leorio.

As the man awaited for a response, Leorio flicked his sunglasses, and slowly walked over to him. Judging from the man's build, he had a feeling that the man was in his early twenties, and he was in good shape. However, as he stepped closer to the twenty something man, he saw that he had his eyes closed, and wincing a bit. Something in the back of Leorio's head told him that the man was expecting to be punched by him, but he asked himself why. Although the twenty something man did mistake him as an old man and answered harshly to his suggestion, something about the way he apologized and bowed reminded him of someone.

Letting out a light sigh, Leorio quietly stood beside the man, and leaned against the railing of the boardwalk. Despite the entire city being abandoned and run down, something about it made the nineteen year old very nostalgic, and while it may sound sappy to most folk, he can easily say there is beauty within this crummy place.

Leorio gazed at the orange shimmering ocean for a few brief moments, and then he finally said something to the man "Names Leorio," He introduced himself calmly to the now shocked man. "Leorio Paladinight." He stated his name fully, and extended out his hand toward the twenty something man.

"The names Grease." The man introduced himself to Leorio, and after giving him a stern handshake, he continued with his bubble blowing. "Eyeesh, this thing is all kinds of nasty." The man muttered out and he winced from tasting the soap liquid in his mouth.

"You know as a med student, it's not really a good idea to consume soap products like that." Leorio stated to Grease sternly, but the latter shook his head.

"Yeah, I know, but this thing here is actually a type of candy from Japon, and that country is pretty known for its weird snacks." Grease explained to the nineteen year old lightly, and he continued to blow bubbles into the air. "Tastes like crap, but I can see why people like these type of things..." He said to the teen, and fondly watched at the candy bubbles as some of them dissipate in the air.

"I see." Leorio said, and saw that one of the bubbles floated toward him. He popped the fragile orb with the tip of his tongue, "Eyuck! It takes like a sports drink that's mixed with sweat!" He shouted in disgust.

Grease chuckled at the nineteen year old's reaction from tasting one of the candy bubbles, "Why don't you get a drink of water? After all, you did say there's a water fountain a few blocks from here." He said mockingly with a smile.

"I ain't falling for that one," Leorio stated sharply, "And even if I did go to the fountain, at least my hair would still look good unlike your garbage mop of yours." He retaliated smugly.

"HEY!" Grease responded in anger, but was welcomed by the sight and sounds of Leorio snickering. Realizing that he was also joking, Grease laughed a bit as well, and moments later, both guys silently stared at the horizon to see the sun slowly setting.

,,,,

"So you're here on a trip with a few friends of yours? Sounds fun, but hate to break it you, but Leder's Square ain't exactly tourist friendly, so don't go there too often." Grease stated, and he pulled out a cigarette pack from his blazer's pocket. "How do you like Yorknew so far?" He asked Leorio curiously, and he struggled to get a spark from his lighter.

It was an hour after seeing the sun set in Koney Island Boardwalk, and both guys had a feeling that it was time to go back to the main city. Since Leorio had a taxi waiting for him in that area, he offered Grease a ride, and after a small debate, both of them had decided to split the cab fee. During the car ride, the two guys chatted with each other as the car drove past by buildings and through tunnels.

"It's great." Leorio answered Grease's question with a smile, "Granted the prices in this city are a bit steep for my tastes, but just being able to see the sights and trying out the food places is worth it." He responded with a smile.

"Glad to hear that." Grease replied with a smile, and he finally got a light from his lighter. "Ever tried out any of the night clubs? It's great place to hang, and your friends might enjoy it. Not to mention, you might get some action or get a girl who has a thing for teasing old looking guys..." He suggested jokingly, and noticed a sudden jerk from Leorio's body.

"Can't really bring any of my friends to those clubs. Some of them is too young for that, one would rather read a book, and the other, she's..." Leorio suddenly stopped talking, and as the word, club, floating in his brain, he faintly remembered the events that happened at the Soft n Cream Club.

_"You're quite a dancer!"_

_"Thank you. You're not so bad yourself!"_

_"I-I got to go... I'm so sorry."_

_"My best wasn't enough...If anything happened to you or to anyone again, I can't forgive myself."_

As he remembered the way Cider danced, smiled, and how she cried her eyes out for him, Leorio's lax smile faded away from his face. "She's a bit high-strung for that type of thing, and it's a bit awkward for me..." He finished his sentence, and turned his attention to the window for a bit.

"Ah... girl trouble." Grease said out loud, and felt somewhat empathetic toward the teenager. As the scent of menthol filled the car, Grease took another puff from his cigarette, and rolled down the window a bit. When the some of the smoke flew out of the window, he threw out his cigarette butt out of the car. "If it makes you feel any better, I had some girl trouble myself, and it was at the time that I was still getting use to this city." He muttered out lightly.

"Really?" Leorio muttered in surprise, "That's kinda hard to believe, but then again... You might have the looks, but you do kinda sound like an asshole... N-no offense!" He stated nervously with an apologetic look, and saw that Grease was glaring at him slightly.

"No, I get that a lot, from both my friends and from some of women that I had the misfortune of meeting with." He stated bitterly, but from Leorio's perspective, it sounded like Grease was berating himself. "But anyway, when I starting up here in this city, there was this girl that I use to work with, and when I first met her, I hated her." Grease stated bluntly, and placed another cigarette in his mouth.

"..."

"At first glance, I thought she was little miss perfect, and was just kissing up toward me and the higher ups that I worked with. But after sometime, I realized that she was being genuine... and what do you know, I felt like garbage." He stated heavily, and took out his cigarette from his mouth. "I did apologize to her, but in pure honesty, I was expecting to get a slap from her, but she never struck me. Instead she smiled to me and said.."

_"**That's alright, but can I make a suggestion? Instead of asking my forgiveness, how about we start over, and try to get along?**"_

"And before you knew it, I became close friends with her." Grease explained with a soft smile, and he twirled his unused cigarette with his fingers. "But... it didn't last long as much I wanted it to..." He said lightly, and he softly stared at his cigarette.

"Did something happen to the both of you?" Leorio asked lightly, and he watched as Grease stared at his cigarette with his violet eyes.

Grease lowered his head slightly, and he closed his eyes as memories of his friend vividly flashed in the back of his head. Memories of the girl painfully struck his mind, "I..." He choked up a bit, but after a small quick breath, he continued with his sentence, "I ended up hurting her, and ran without saying anything to her. I never spoke to her since that day." He answered sadly. "But you know, it's probably for the best, I'm too much of an asshole to be friends with a goody two shoes like her. And she's probably together with some guy who has a good head on his shoulders." He said with a faint smile, and realized that the taxi was parking in front of a ritzy hotel. "Ah, looks like this is your stop. Don't worry about splitting the pay, this one is on me." Grease told Leorio kindly with a sorrowful yet gentle smile.

"Thanks." Leorio said nonchalantly, and slowly got out of the cab. After saying a few parting words, Leorio stood in front of the hotel's entrance, and watched as the taxi drove off safely to another part of the city. 'What an interesting guy,' He thought to himself, and as he entered the Beitacle's lobby area, he noticed a familiar blue haired woman lounging on one of the lobby's cushy couches. She was on Mika's laptop, and had her stocking covered legs stretched out onto the rest of the couch.

"You know, you should be getting some rest. You do have ballet practice tomorrow." He said with a smile, and continued to loom over her head.

Cider's eyes shot up from being spooked, and she closed the laptop shut. "A-ah L-Leorio! There you are." She chirped nervously, and sat herself correctly on the couch. Then she heard a loud hungry growl emitting from her junior's stomach, and watched as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Sorry, didn't eat dinner yet." He said with a shameless smile, and was welcomed by Cider's trademark graceless smile.

* * *

Somewhere in Yorknew City, Grease was still in the taxi, and he contently watched as the buildings passed by his window. Then he slowly pulled out a worn out photo from his pants pocket, and quietly stared at it. The photo itself showed it's age, but the memories within it was still new to him, and a part of him wished that could relive those moments again. The photo depicted of himself and the girl that he formerly befriended, but because the photo was badly taken, Grease was unfortunately obscured by the girl's pose. Suddenly, the taxi halted abruptly, and it almost made Grease fall out of his seat. Gaining back his seating, the messy haired man heard a familiar metallic click, and holding him at gunpoint was the taxi driver.

"This is for boss' daughter, Daisy Nine!" The driver shouted gruffly, and without hesitation he pulled the trigger.

**BANG!**

It was minutes after the gunshot, and in a bizarre turn of events, Grease came out alive, unscathed. The driver, who was revealed to be one of York Nine's members, wasn't lucky, and his own stupidity was cause of his death. The driver didn't realize that the inside window that was between the driver and the passenger was bulletproof, and because the grim reaper had a weird sense of humor for that particular night, the bullet ricocheted, and it struck thru the driver's forehead.

Walking away from the taxi, Grease took out another cigarette from his blazer, and a second later, he heard the sounds of footsteps coming to his way. Coming out of the dirty alleyways was a huge number of intimidating guys in suits, and they slowly encircled him. Realizing who these suited guys are, Grease remained composed, and watched as one of the lead members of the group walked over to him.

"If you're looking for your friend, he killed himself on accident." Grease explained to the guy in front of him, and watched as two other guys ran over to the taxi. When he heard the two guys scream in horror of discovering their friend's corpse, he lowered his gaze a bit, and sympathized with their sudden loss. "I'm sorry..." He muttered out to them sincerely, and the man in front of him angrily clenched his fist.

"Sorry? Sorry isn't going to bring any of them back!" The man shouted bitterly at Grease, and few seconds later, he pulled out his weapon. "FIGHT ME BASTARD!" He screamed out to Grease, "FIGHT ME AND THE REST OF YORK NINE TO PROVE TO US THAT YOU'RE SORRY!" He demanded with a piercing glare, and the rest of his group drew out their weapons.

As the group of thugs drew closer to Grease, he slicked his hair back, and proceeded to lit his cigarette. Taking a long drag, memories of the girl that he ever came to have adored flowed through his mind, but one unpleasant memory overtook his mind. That one memory was still fresh in his mind, and if he had too, he can pinpoint the exact moment where he shot his friend's left shin, and how much she begged for him to not leave.

_"Pietre come back... Please... Don't go... Pietre...?"_

**_"PIETRE!"_**

Opening his violet eyes, Pietre threw his cigarette toward a gang's member face, and once the latter was temporarily stunned, he knocked the thug down by karate chopping the back of his head. When the rest of the gang saw this, some of them backed away while many of them cautiously moved closer to Pietre. As some of York Nine's men gotten closer to him, Pietre took a deep breath, and as he exhaled, his whole body was surrounded by an indigo colored aura that was invisible to the thugs. With a slight nudge of the head, Pietre beckoned them to attack them, and without any hesitation nor regret, all of them sprinted toward him.

_"How fast time flies, I can't believe how quickly the moments have passed~ The precious years have come and gone too soon, here with you~"_


	16. Memory

Hello everyone, here's another chapter of WxB, and I'm very sorry for the long wait, this chapter in particular was difficult for me to formulate, and it took longer to complete than expected. But in the end, I have decided to post the first half of the long chapter, but in the near future, I will merge them together. Anyway, as always, feedback/favs/alerts/ect. are always deeply appreciated, and happy reading you guys!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Hunter x Hunter, references, the images used for the covers, or songs used in this story.

List of songs:

Inspiration for the Chapter Title: Memory by Yoko Kanno

-Makeshift band's song: Friday On My Mind by Noogie

-"He shined for her and she sparkled for him.": Pipo Password by Teddyloid feat. Bonjour Suzuki (Space Patrol Luluco is such a cute show!)

-Talk between a silver fox and a lapdog: Sleep Away by Bob Acri

-Talk between a bewildered gorilla and a snooty mouse: Ultra Violet by Aso

-Jogging Girl: Artificial Flowers Grow by m.e.

-Talk between a goon and his cohort: 朝 by Yusuke Kuwabara

-Running goon: Scariness from the Hunter x Hunter 2011 OST 3

* * *

"So what did you think about the party?"

"I really liked it!"

On top of a military base that was located somewhere in the Talantic ocean, there was two Hunters that were talking with each other as the sun slowly sets onto the other side of the ocean. Both of them were recovering from a big party that was held within the base, and though the party had ended, there was an after party being held at the barracks. Since the time at the base is coming down to its last three months, the majority of the adults at the base went to the soiree, while some decided to unwind at the other areas of the complex.

As for the two who were looking at the horizon on the base's roof, one was still a little too young to get her first taste of an adult party, and the other wanted to stare at the skies. Both of them were still in their normal clothing, and while the youngest one, Cider, suggested of changing back to their assigned uniforms, the oldest one, Pietre, convinced her that there was no rush.

"Ikaros' cooking really improved and seeing Cherie getting Kharon to dance with her was great too. Though him drawing out his shotgun to impress her wasn't a good idea..." The eighteen year old girl continued her review with a delightful smile. "And seeing you, Spuds, and Gunther perform on stage was quite a sight!" She stated cheerfully, and couldn't help but be a bit envious of the boy's singing.

"You really think so?" He asked, and modestly rubbed the back of his head. "Be honest with ya, we kinda winged that performance. See if we kept practicing in the mess hall last night, Cherie would've killed us." He explained, and felt a chill running up his spine from remembering his commander's scary face.

"Ah! So that's why it sounded like there were two cats dying near the supply room!" Cider shouted sharply, and watched as Pietre gawked at her harsh response. She giggled with a joking grin, "Hahaha, I'm only kidding! I didn't really hear you guys last night, but that's because I was in the infirmary." She said lightly.

"Again?!" He stated in disbelief by the fact that rookie was not only in the infirmary yesterday, but also didn't tell him about it. "C'mon Meiming, we're almost done here, so the least you can do right now is not get janked up or sick like last time." He scolded the eighteen year old sternly.

Cider waved her hand gently at him, and placed both her hands on her sides. "Hey just because I'm your junior, doesn't mean you have to worry so much about me!" She snapped at her senior haughtily. "Besides, I wasn't in the infirmary for an injury. I just wanted see if the new doctor wanted something to eat or drink." She explained to him, and heard a relieved sigh from the latter.

"Oh, you mean that Virus Hunter from Waldhalle?" Pietre asked her, and she nodded her head. "Yeah, I barely see him at the lunchroom or at the barracks. It's probably because some of the female staff won't stop bugging him and only call him by his code name. Heh, I didn't know that you're into that type of men Cider." He teased his junior, and he grinned as he found himself being gently pummeled by the girl's fists.

"O-ooooh, you're so mean! How can you say to your junior!?" She shouted with a flustered face, and harmlessly punched the guy's chest.

"Hey just because I'm your senior, doesn't mean I can't mess with you." He mocked her with a playful grin.

"Oh you're impossible!" She barked at him. "I think the hair spray and mousse of yours had finally got into your brain!" She retorted out loud.

The two continued their exchange of light jokes and laughter with each other, and then minutes later, they contently watched the ocean waves crash onto the base's shoreline in the distance. Once the skies slowly changed into a deeper shade of blue, Pietre turned himself around, and laid his back against the base's metal railing.

"Starting next month, it's going to be pretty hectic." Cider said worriedly, and continued to stare at the horizon.

"Yeah..." He replied, and looked toward the sky that was speckled with tiny specks of white. "But you know, I think everything will be okay. Sure a lot of hunters and people we know ditched us, and some of the jobs we've done so far had gotten us in a load of trouble, but we came this far. We already proven to the Association that we're on their side, and so this last job we'll be doing, there's a shooting star at the end of it and all we gotta do is wish for the best." He muttered out with a grin, and suddenly, he heard a giggle from the rookie. "Hey, what's so funny?" He asked curiously, and he felt his cheeks warming up.

"Sorry, it's just that I'm usually the one being optimistic about these kind of jobs. But you know, it's really nice hearing something like that from someone else for a change." She explained tenderly with a smile.

"Ahh... I get what you mean." He replied lightly, and once the warmth from his cheeks died down, he took out something from his jacket's pocket.

"Hey, how about we take a photo? You know as keepsakes."

"Uhm... Are you sure that's fine? Because the last time I took photos, I got scolded by Amalia, and my camera got confiscated by one of the soldiers."

"Don't sweat it. I've been taking photos of our time here, and so far, I haven't gotten beef from Cherie or Kharon about it..._yet._"

"..."

"Anyway, c'mon! Let's take photo of ourselves and one with us together in it. You first! Just continue standing there, and give me a pose. But not a boring one, do one like those models in your beauty magazines!"

"O-okay. Like this?"

"Uhuh... Uhm, y-yeah! Alright! 1. 2. 3!"

**SNAP!**

* * *

"Two days ago, I brought Leorio and Mika to the Star Festival in Little Japon. And today I brought the, to the Imperium Building, which I ended up telling that story of you almost giving Spuds a heart attack."

"Hahaha, I almost forgot about that one! I made him believe that I almost fell through the top deck's floor, and when he pushed me away..."

"He found out the ground was made of toughened glass, and he screamed out..."

"PLEASE KASPER! PLEASE! DON'T DO THAT!"

"Hahahahahaha!"

In the middle of the night, Cider was still awake within one of the Beitacle Hotel suites, and she was happily chatting with someone on a laptop. On the laptop screen was Kasper who was not only still awake in Waldhalle, but also having a glass of whiskey in the comfort of his home. When they both recovered from their laughter, Cider kindly watched him gave out a satisfying sigh, and smiled warmly at the laptop screen. Although the first three days of being in Yorknew again was a nightmare for the temp, the days after it were surprisingly wonderful.

Cider giggled softly to herself, "You know, if me or the others were in Spuds position, we would probably do the same thing too." She said with eyes filled with nostalgia. "Is he still... in touch with his dad?" She hesitantly finished her question, and Kasper shook his head.

As he poured himself another glass, Kasper's lips formed into a stern smile, and as he swirled his glass, he fondly looked back at the time he spent in Yorknew. Two years ago, Casper was asked to work at a private military base that was located somewhere in the city's ocean. Unfortunately, the job offer came short notice, and because the base's sick bay was in desperate need of a main physician, Kasper had no choice, but to comply. At first, he didn't enjoy the fact of leaving both his home country and his clinic for two in a half months, but during his short stay, the Virus Hunter quickly grew fond of the city, and the people that he worked with.

"Right after the incident and the trials, he cut off ties with him and has moved back to Tenas to live with his grandpa." Kasper answered lightly, and fondly remembered the times where he joked the poor lad by scaring him. Then the doctor remembered the dreadful day where he comforted the boy, who was heavily affected by the events that occurred at that military base. "Considering of what happened, it's comforting to know that he's not tied with that bastard anymore. Spuds a good kid, a bit of a scaredy cat, but a good kid." Casper stated respectfully, and proceeded to put more ice in his cup.

"I'm glad that's he doing okay, and I agree, Spuds a swell Hunter." She stated, and slowly she rested her hand on her chin with an unnoticed dopey smile plastered on her face. "Back to what I was saying earlier, I took the two to the Summer Festival in Little Japon, and Leorio won a cell phone strap for one of his college seniors." She finished her sentence cheerfully, but when she mentioned of Leorio giving his crush a cell phone strap, she suddenly felt a sharp pain emitting from her heart. However, her smile remained on her face, and unknowingly, an old memory of hers softened heartache.

Kasper noticed the change of his friend's smile on his computer, and chuckled a bit. "Thinking about your crush?" He asked the temp thoughtfully, and watched as she snapped out of her trance.

"H-huh...?" She slowly muttered out with widened eyes, but her smile on her face still remained the same. Before she could answer his question, he led out a warm chuckle, and he placed his empty glass back onto his table.

"No need to answer that, I'm just teasing with you." He told her kindly, and smiled back at Cider, who was probably thinking about her crush. Seeing her tender smile brought back memories of young love, and a time where those feelings were hoped to be reciprocated by that special someone. As he looked back at his own attempts of romance, he then recalled the rare moments where love almost bloomed at that military base on the ocean.

"Come to think of it, this isn't the first time I saw you smiling that way." He continued with a smile. "From what I remember, you had that same look on your face when you were with that traitor-... Ah." He gasped in shock, but on his computer screen, he saw that Cider was gently waving her hand at him as if she was fine with him mentioning her former partner.

"No, no, it's okay Casper-sama." Cider said to Casper reassuringly, and her tender smile transitioned into a faint one. "I'm already talking about the others, so if you like, we can talk about him again..." She assured him kindly, and suddenly, she felt a similar tightening sensation forming in her heart. However, the sensations in her chest were slightly different than before, and this concerned her. 'Why do I feel so giddy?' She asked herself, and a faint memory of a boy with violet colored eyes flashed in her head.

"Something wrong, Cider? You look like you saw a ghost, or in this case, your crush." Kasper joked with her again, and he led out a hearty chuckle.

"Haha, no, I'm just thinking about turning in these dossiers to Spuds' dad, Tater Lahtkas. Goodness, I'm a little surprised that he's secretly working with the Nostrade family..." She masked her fib with a giggle.

"Same here." Kasper sighed out, and rubbed his chin. "I could've sworn that bastard was permanently assigned to do tax work for Money Hunters, but he must of gotten a slap on the wrist during his trial." He said in a somewhat bitter tone, but then he led out another sigh. "But don't think I'm lumping you two _pups_ with him and the others, both of you are innocent." He told the temp hunter warmly.

When he finished sentence, Cider's eyes softened, and she slightly lowered her gaze to the coffee table. "I'm happy to hear that you still trust me." She continued, "But seeing as what happened three days ago, I'm pretty sure that I lost all of Autumns' trust." She finished with a sheepish grin, and she faintly remembered the first three days of being in Yorknew.

On the first day of the trip, Cider along with Mika and Leorio were welcomed by a string of unlucky events. First thing that happened on that day was Leorio getting kidnapped by the Shiao Family, and said gang were looking for Cider, who was involved with trading a large sum of money for pages for a cursed book. After failed attempt on rescuing Leorio due to cowardice, Cider swallowed her pride, and decided to call her boss for help. She still remembered how stressful it was to tell her boss of what happened, and how much she wanted to beat herself up for not being able to save her junior from the club. Thankfully, Leorio came out unscathed and only smelt of rotten garbage, but that didn't stop the temp from telling her boss of what happened.

The day after the incident, she told Autumns about the kidnapping and Shiao's gang, and unsurprisingly, she received an earful of vitriol from him. Though the words were harsher than usual, she took in her boss' criticisms, and fully took the blame for what had happened. However, two familiar people spoke up for her behalf, which stunned not only Cider, but also her boss, who was heavily shocked by the fact that his daughter rose her voice at him.

_"Hey don't blame all of this on her! I was the one who got kidnapped!"_

_"Y-you're being unfair dad! How was she suppose to know that those goons were after her!?"_

Kasper sighed lightly at Cider's response, "He'll cool down eventually, but don't stress over it too much. Right now you should be focused on turning in those dossiers, and prepare for that ballet recital of yours." He insisted sternly, and poured himself another glass of whiskey. "Speaking of ballet, are you planning to go professional in the future?" He asked curiously, and Cider shook her head.

"Oh, no, no. Ballet is just a hobby of mine, and truthfully, I really don't see myself as one of those prima ballerinas." She answered with a light smile.

"Fair enough, that sort of reminds me of myself when I was around your age. When I was studying for my doctorate, I took piano lessons on the side, and almost got a gig out of it." Kasper stated with a lofty smile, and took another swig from his fresh cup of whiskey.

"Wow, that's amazing Kasper!" She shouted in awe, and shortly after, she giggled out of nowhere. "Hehe, you really are a classy_ silver fox_." She complimented Kasper kindly, and the latter led out a nervous cough.

"Of all nicknames for being handsome, why do you and the others at the base picked that for me?" He asked Cider brashly, and he felt his cheeks warming up slightly from drinking too much. Half an hour later, the two had finished their friendly conversation, and both exchanged their goodbyes by computer. "Get some rest, and remember to stretch out your legs, doctor's orders." The fifty five year old told the temp hunter kindly, and she nodded at his command.

"I will, thank you and good night Casper." Cider bid sweet dreams to him, and watched as he logged off from his computer.

**Click. Beep. Beep.**

Closing the laptop shut, Cider led out a tired sigh, and turned her attention to the folders that were scattered across the coffee table in front of her. The files consisted of data and photos of each potential bodyguard for a mafia family known as the, Nostrade Family, and the name itself made the temp hunter quivered in fear.

'You'll be fine...' She reassured herself, and proceeded to finish up the last two dossiers. 'You'll get through this.' She grabbed one of the folders that were on the coffee table.

**Dossier # 69**

**Name: **_Baise *Meuf_

**Age: **_23_

**Height: **_165 cm_

**Weight: **_48 kg_

**Nen Type: **_Manipulation_

**Past Clients:** _Cecil Lemmonde_

**[****Approve****]/****Disapprove**

**Dossier # 404**

**Name: **_Kurapika [__Last Name not specified__]_

**Age: **_17_

**Height: **_171 cm_

**Weight: **_59 kg_

**Nen Type: **_Conjuration_

**Past Clients: **_None_

**[****Approve****]/****Disapprove**

Finishing up her last review on the bodyguards, Cider laid herself onto the couch, and she stared blankly at the ceiling. She led out a yawn, and as she stretched out her limbs, she rose her left leg. On her left shin was a suture scar, and from what she recalled, it was the best that Kasper could provide for her on short notice. Feeling her eyelids were getting heavier, Cider laid her body out onto the couch, and recollected on what she's done so far in Yorknew. Aside from reviewing the newest bodyguards for the Nostrade Family, the temp had ballet practice, and the recital was premiering this upcoming weekend.

A soft smile formed on her lips, 'I hope Mika and Leorio likes the show.' She said to herself, and looked back fondly at the fun stuff that they all did these past two weeks. Being able to bring them sightseeing, to different eateries, to a festival, and being able to tell them stories was wonderful. However, a part of her felt terrible of what happened on the first night at the city, and she hated how much she cried like an idiot to her unrequited crush.

_"Nothing bad happened to me, right? So no need to cry...don't worry, everything's alright."_

She covered her face with both her hands, 'That was embarrassing.' She berated herself, and she led out a tiny growl. 'Argh, I know that he likes someone else, so why won't this pain go away?' She flapped her legs frustratingly in the air, and minutes later, she laid her legs back onto the couch. 'But it's weird though, when I think of Leorio, my heart feels like it's going to burst, but when I think of... _him_, I feel like a giddy schoolgirl... just like before.' Her sullen face softened, and rolled her body onto her side.

After having a friendly chat with Casper, and finishing up the last two dossiers, she was tuckered out, and had hopes that a few hours of sleep would do her good. However, both her mind and her heart was forcing her to stay awake. Suddenly, a small jolt of pain emitted from her left shin, 'Let me sleep please...' She ignored the imagined pain that was created from her head, 'Let me sleep.' She pleaded, and finally, the melatonin in her brain kicked in. As she quietly slept on the couch, a faint smile crept over face, and she led out a soft yet gentle whimper.

"_Grease..._"

* * *

It was early morning at Yorknew City, and the Beitacle Hotel's cafe was currently serving breakfast along with mimosa cocktails. Sitting in one of the cafe's tables, Leorio alongside Mika were eating their breakfast while the former was looking through his cell phone. Aside of getting text messages from his colleagues back in Waldhalle, the nineteen year old hoped that he gotten a text or a voice mail from a close friend of his. 'Still no response from Kurapika... I wonder if he's okay...' The nineteen year old asked himself, and sent his friend another text message.

"Still haven't gotten word from your buddies?" The seventeen year old asked while cutting her pancakes into triangles.

"No luck." He sighed, and proceeded to put a few tiny cubes of sugar into his cup of coffee. As he stirred his coffee with a spoon, the med student couldn't help but notice that there was an empty chair at their table. "Can't believe she ditched us at 6 in morning." He said heavily, and placed his spoon on top of the table.

"Well she did have to turn in that paperwork to an old buddy of hers before 12 PM." Mika replied as she placed a piece of syrupy pancake in her mouth.

"But leaving at 6 o'clock in the morning? It sounds like she's a schoolgirl who's trying to meet up with her crush at a bus stop." He asked concernedly, and watched as Mika gagged on her piece of pancake.

Pounding her chest a couple of times, Mika grabbed her glass of milk, and took a few gulps. "Please, don't say those things when I'm eating." She scolded her temporary caretaker haughtily, "And I really doubt that she woke up at 6 AM to meet with her crush, who is a bit of a butt monk-... I-if she had one I mean!" She corrected herself with a nervous laugh.

"Uhuh..." He said while taking a sip from his coffee mug, and in the corner of his eye, he watched the news that was playing on the cafe's flat screen television near the bar area. On the television screen, a newscaster in his 40s was reporting about a shooting that occurred two nights ago, and so far there were no leads, but all that was left at the crime scene was a burnt out taxi car. Once the news went into a two minute commercial break, Leorio placed down his coffee mug, and stared at Mika who was enjoying her meal. "By any chance, has Cider told you anything about the club?" He asked the seventeen year old, and placed down his mug onto the table.

"Aside from telling me she ran away, and her seeing you at the park, that's about it." She answered his question, and then she placed her fork in her mouth, "Why?" Mika asked as she pierced her fork into another piece of pancake.

"N-nothing, it's just weird that she's barely talking about it, but is talking about some of her old work life ya know?" He explained while rubbing the back of head with a modest smile, but a part of him felt a little sad by the fact that his senior never mentioned about her dancing with him at the club. "But then again, it's probably for the best. That day was pretty stressful for her." He stated lightly, and proceeded to eat his breakfast, which consisted of scrambled eggs, two sausage links, and a few roasted cherry tomatoes.

The two continued eating their breakfast quietly, and as the minutes rolled by, Mika placed down her utensil to wipe her mouth. Patting her lips with a cloth napkin, she glanced at her temporary caretaker, who was fiddling with his half-eaten sausage with a slight frown. Seeing him eat his breakfast with a frown saddened the girl, and she watched as he playfully kicked a roasted cherry tomato with his fork.

"Since you sound concerned about Cider." The blonde girl broke the silence between them, and she watched as he accidentally dropped his fork onto his plate. "Why don't you go after her, and talk about it? I'm pretty sure, she's not far from the hotel, and you guys can just meet me at the arcade!" Mika inquired the boy in a curious manner, and quickly masked her enthusiasm from the nineteen year old.

"Ah, alright." Leorio said with a dumbfounded look, and placed down his fork. "By the way, thanks for keeping my little ventures a secret Mika." He thanked the seventeen year old with smile, but she crossed in arms in annoyance.

"No need to thank me, but you really should tell her about what you were doing these last few nights." She finished sternly.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." The spiky haired boy agreed, and hearing seventeen year old's mature suggestion made him grin slightly.

'Hah, they grow up so fast...'

* * *

Somewhere in the city, there was an apartment complex which was called the, Sunset Apartments, and two blocks from the building was a construction site. Unlike other apartments, this particular one was largely vacant, and the reason for that is because of its noisy neighbor. The sounds of metal clanking and jackhammers pounding echoed loudly within that area, and that caused most of the apartment residents to move away. However, some remained at their homes, and only a tiny group was vocal with their complaints about the construction work. Sadly, both that group and their complaints were quickly snuffed out, and as the days go by, each of those said protesters left, one by one.

'This is the place.' Cider thought as she wiped the sweat from her brow, and her hands gripped tightly on to her bag's shoulder strap. A few hours ago, the young woman had decided to leave the hotel early, and took a long brisk jog around one of the city's main districts. While she was on a business trip, Cider felt the need to exercise, and to get some things off her mind . 'This is way different from jogging in Waldhalle.' She told herself, and after walking a few blocks, she finally arrived at the Sunset Apartments' main entrance.

Carefully walking up one of the complex's staircase, Cider's ears picked up the construction noises, and she winced at the sharp sounds of a mechanical saw cutting through thick metal. The construction sounds were terrible, and the temp hunter was shocked by the fact that one of her old comrades was living near it. 'How on earth can he stand these sounds?' She inquired herself, and when she finally reached the door that was numbered, 17, she took a deep breath.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Someone slowly opened the door, "Ah, you're here early, fifteen minutes to be exact." A chubby man muttered out with a tired drunken gaze.

Standing in front of Cider, was a Finance Hunter, who was about five feet tall, and the smell of beer emitted from his well-rounded body. His name was, Tater Lahtcas, and like Cider, he formerly worked with Kharon at the military base, but because of the incidents that occurred there, the plump man was supposedly forced back to handling bank accounts and depository information for Hunters and for small businesses.

Tater laid his back against the frame of door, "So let me guess, none of the recruits passed?" He asked with an unsavory smile.

"No sir, all the applicants were approved, and they'll be returning to the mansion in a couple of weeks." Cider responded kindly, and took out an orange paper folder out of her bag. "Also, I organized the files for you, just in case if you needed to update the new info onto the database. If you like, I can do that for you" She explained politely

Clicking his teeth disapprovingly, Tater swiped the orange colored folder out of her hands, "Honestly." He snapped harshly at her, and gazed deeply at the sweat that was trickling from the side of her face down to her collarbone. "You grew, but yet you still act like that. _Kissing ass like usual... No wonder you got off so easily._" He cursed under his breath, and closed his door shut.

Once Tater slammed his apartment door shut, Cider stood there in silence, and without making a sound, she left the complex. Ten minutes passed, and the young woman was still walking aimlessly through the city's sidewalks. _'Kissing ass like usual... No wonder you got off so easy.'_ Her ex-comrade's voice echoed in through her mind, but she tried to shake off her sadness by continuing her walk. Once she was a few distances away from the Sunset Apartments, Cider decided to rest at a nearby tree, and watched as the people walk pass her. 'Thank god it's breezy today.' She thought, and felt instant relief from the cool gust of wind. Leading out a satisfying sigh, Cider arched her back against the metal railing behind her. For a brief moment, it felt like she was at her old job, and was standing leisurely beside her former senior.

"This feels great..." She muttered to herself quietly, but her comfort was cut off short by the sound of coughing.

Slowly opening her eyes, the twenty year old found herself being stared by a familiar set of chocolate brown eyes, and this caused her to stand up quickly. Standing before her was none other than, Leorio, who had suddenly turned his head to the opposite direction of where she stood. "Sorry, didn't mean to spook you." He apologized to her, and he continued avoiding making eye contact with her.

"No, no, it's okay, it's really my fault for spacing out, and not noticing you." Cider interjected nervously, and glanced at the nineteen year old's face. From there, she saw that Leorio's cheeks were tinted red, and his eyebrows were furrowed slightly. As she took few glimpses of his masculine features, she noticed that he was wearing a different pair of glasses. It was the same pair that he wore on the night of the club incident, and something about it felt strangely familiar. The way Leorio wore it made her heart thump, just like when she danced with that playboy, who not only wore the same pair of sunglasses, but also wore the same exact pieces of clothing that she picked for him. Once her mind glued the pieces of information together, Cider froze, and the grin of hers completely vanished from her face. "Are you alright?" She heard Leorio ask worriedly, but the last thing she saw was the world spinning in front of her, and with a blink of an eye, she saw someone crouching over her.

"C...?! C-ca...ear... me?! C...der?! _Cider!_"

_"Bubbles_!"

"Grease..."

* * *

"Tssss..."

"Almost done, Pietre. I just need to wrap you up now."

Inside of a dingy hotel room, the slick haired man was currently having his wounds cleaned by one of his buddies. For the last few days, Pietre was currently recovering from his wounds that he received from his little squabble with an opposing mafia gang known as, York Nine. While he did receive injuries from the fight, the opposing side had gotten their fair share of bruises and wounds as well. However, there was only one casualty, and it was the taxi driver, who not only accidentally killed himself with his own gun, but was also the catalyst for his gang to attempt to take down one of the Shiao Family's top members. Unfortunately, they were not successful, and just like what happened to their boss' daughter, they were unable to retrieve their dead friend's body out of the taxi; which had broke out into flames.

Pietre's buddy led out a sigh, and he watched as the youngest member of the group threw a used up towel into a basin full of water. Feeling refreshed from the new set of bandages around his injuries, he smiled at his companion. "Job well done, Paully." He lilted out smoothly, and was then offered a mug full of rice porridge by his young soldier. Earlier today, an old acquaintance of his brought him a container of rice congee from an eatery that specializes in cuisine that reign from the Dentora region; particularly Baotai City's food. Blowing at the hot liquid, Pietre took a sip of the porridge, and he stuck his tongue out in disgust. The porridge was spicy, but because it's been a while since he ate something from the city of cold winters, he continued to eat it. After taking a few sips of his congee, Pietre laid himself back onto his seat, and suddenly felt his legs being elevated on a foot rest. "Trying to butter me up now Paully boy? Didn't know I was your type." He teased the young goon with a flirtatious wink, but the latter shook his head in disapproval.

"No way Pietre, I have a girlfriend!" Paully snapped lightly at his boss, and grabbed himself a chair. "And besides, you really need to take it easy. Ever since that tussle with York Nine, you haven't been sleeping lately. If me and Jaoi, you would still by lying on the gr-" He scolded his senior, but he was interrupted by loud soup slurping sounds. The young lad with ginger colored hair sighed in defeat, "You're not listening to me, are you?" He asked the twenty three year old dejectedly, and was welcomed by sounds of light laughter.

"Nah, I'm listening to you. Loud and clear, and thanks again for checking up on me." The slick haired man reassured his cohort kindly, and expressed his gratitude for the boy's skills with a smile. While he knew that the nineteen year old lacked the skills of a mob member, the boy's way around the first aid kit was impressive. However, the fact he chose this way of life as a source of income really dampened the adult's mood. Before he could say anything to Paully, someone busted the hotel's door wide open, and the smile on Pietre's face was replaced with a frown.

Standing in front of the door was the oldest of the Shiao mob, who had a well trimmed beard, and wore a black silken suit. The man was named, Jiang Xiao, but around his cohorts, he goes by the nickname of, Jaio. As he walked closer to where Pietre and Paully sat, Jaoi carefully slid the index of his finger on the hotel room's dining table. There he saw a basin full of water, and a worn out medical bag, that use to have a patch sowed on it. "Hey Jaoi, hasn't your mother taught you to greet your friends or knock before you enter?" He heard his capo asked haughtily, and his lips formed into a faint smirk. "My apologies Pietre, I was thinking about that sweetheart I met back at the club a few days ago." Jaoi explained with a shrug, and the smile on his face made Pietre roll his violet colored eyes.

"You're still talking to that good for nothing honey-pot? You could do so much better..." Pietre stated to his oldest cohort bluntly, which made the youngest member gawk in horror.

"Says to someone who always has his tail between his legs." Jaoi retorted heavily, which made the youngest member of the mob gasp in horror.

Within the Shiao Family, it was known that both Pietre and Jaoi had bad blood with one another, and many feared that one of them was going to rip the other's throat out. Their hostility for each other all started when Pietre first joined the crew, and was quickly promoted to captain by their boss. This sudden promotion didn't settle well with Jaoi, who believed that he deserved to be captain. Ever since then, the two disagreed with one another, and sometimes they would disobey orders as way to infuriate the other.

The oldest gang member continued to stand near the table, and his eyes were locked onto the medical bag. Pietre arched his eyebrow, "What? Never seen a medical kit before?" He scoffed his cohort, who he assumed was giving him the silent treatment. Few moments later, Jaoi placed both his hands onto the table, "Ever heard of the saying; 'you can tell a woman by the contents of her bag'?" He asked his capo curiously, "Well Dopple told me that, and what do you know... he was right." He stated, and as he turned around, he tossed a dark blue colored bag toward the feet of Pietre's chair.

When contents of the bag spilled onto the carpeted floor, Pietre examined at the items, and it was no doubt that the bag belonged to a woman. On the floor there was a pink compact mirror, breath mints, a fountain pen, a tiny hair brush, a single theater ticket for a ballet show, and a... bloody Hunter License? Pietre's eyes shot open in horror, and as he got off his seat, he quickly grabbed the license off the ground. His heart was racing, and once he turned the license around to see who it belonged to, his expression darkened.

"What did you do to her?" He asked his subordinate calmly, and he held the license closely into his palm.

"Whatever do you mean Pietre or should I say former Crime Hunter, Pietre Dura? Also known within the Association, the traitor of the Talantic Wolves." Jaoi responded dully, and suddenly, he found himself lifted by his shirt. For a split second, Jiao could've sworn that he was locking eyes with a demon, whose glare was so sharp that it was penetrating deep into his soul. A cold chill ran up the man's spine, but because he didn't want show weakness to his capo, Jaio hid his fears with a mocking smirk. "Now, now, both of us know that you don't have the heart to take down a member of your own gang." He stated calmly, and moments after, he was brought back onto the ground.

Before Pietre could say said anything to his subordinate, the youngest member of the group suddenly darted out of the room, and slung over his shoulder was the bag. He heard Jaoi clicking his teeth, "I should've known that Paully would side with you..." He muttered grimly, and moments later, the table that he touched with his fingers was slowly engulfed in flames. Seeing that the medical kit was still on top of the table, Pietre ran to retrieve it, but his attempt was interrupted by a swift kick into his stomach wound. Pietre led out a painful yelp, and as he buckled onto the floor, Jaoi tossed him a worn out photo. "Looking for this?" Jaoi inquired him, but the latter remained silent, "If you want that girl to live, you'll do what I say, and if you don't, well let's say it's curtain calls for her and her little friend of hers.

* * *

Well that's that for now! What do you guys think of music, story, and characters so far? As always, feedback/alerts/favs/ect. are deeply appreciated, and thank you for reading. Also I again apologize for the long wait, and also making this chapter dialogue heavy!

**Notes/Trivia: ***Last name- Blaise's last name is non-canon, and only being used as a placeholder.

-Speaking of last names, I've never really thought over Cider's last name or what it means until I did a search on it recently. There was mixed results from the search, but the meanings around it are pretty accurate.

**Review Responses** for Chapters 15/16/17:

To Fan with no acc: Yup they finally danced :D, and maybe, Leorio is starting to see Cider in a whole different light. Thank you for the review!

To Renko The Ghost: I'm happy that you found the Gaia Avatars for the story cute, and thank you for reading/reviewing the story this far. Also, I'm happy to know that the title of story made sense to you, and I hope you'll continue reading to figure out the full meaning to the title.


	17. Thank You So Much For The Bad Memories

Hello everyone, here's another chapter of WxB, and I hope you enjoy it. Anyway, happy reading, and as usual; feedback(a little comment here and there never hurts!)/favs/alerts/ect. are always deeply appreciated.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Hunter x Hunter nor the songs and artworks that are used for the story.

**WARNING: **The second half of the chapter contains some violence and blood! So please proceed with caution.

List of Songs:

Inspiration for the Chapter Title: Thnks Fr Th Mmrs by Fall Out Boy

-Arcade: Popcorn by Mikuni Shimokawa (2nd ending song for the HxH OVAS)

-Mousy Mika's Bizarro Adventure: Rest (piano) from the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders OST.

-Car ride/The little desires and loneliness of Mika: Again by Tomppabeats

-Just a little trim: Dizziness from the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders OST (love me some JoJo!)

-Decisive Battle from the Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders OST

-Escape!: Stardust Crusaders from the Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders OST

* * *

In the middle of Yorknew City, there lied a tiny arcade that was squished between two huge buildings, but despite its small appearance, the inside of the small shop was quite huge. Within the arcade, a variety of games were displayed throughout the area, and many of the kiosks were preoccupied by those who wanted to kill some time, have some fun, or wanted to have a friendly competition with a buddy or a stranger. A small group of people crowded around a cluster of game cabinets that had, Live or Die 4, branded across the sides of the machines. Two pairs of people were playing against each other, and one of them had her strawberry blonde colored hair in bunches. Tiny beads of sweat formed on her brow, 'This is it. The final battle.' Mika told herself, and placed down her right hand onto the joystick.

**"GET READY... FIGHT!"**

Once she saw the signal flash on her screen, Mika slammed in her left fingers onto the buttons, and shook the joystick to maneuver her character that was wearing a yellow bodysuit. "Go Peanut! Go Mika!" A group of ten year old kids cheered out happily, and watched as their friends duke it out. Both her and her opponent's life bars were half filled, and both of them were sweating bullets. After blocking her opponent's combo, Mika went for the strike, but in a split second, her opponent's ninja character dodged it. Before she could fully cancel her combo, Mika's opponent went for the kill, and she watched as her character fell off a cliff.

***KO!***

***YOU LOSE!***

**(Continue?) 10**

"Aww, I lost!" Mika exclaimed out with a disappointed sigh, and casually jumped off her cushy bar stool seat. Once she got off her seat, she looked at her pint sized pink haired opponent, and extended out her hand to him. "Good match kid." She complimented the boy lightly, "Keep practicing like that, and you'll be winning competitions in no time." She finished her sentence as she shook hands with him. After exchanging goodbyes to Peanut and his friends, Mika saw that there was a huge crowd of people forming around the kiosks that were on the opposite side of where she was playing. 'Must be good match.' She shrugged, and proceeded over to the shop's main entrance.

While she walked, she pulled out her Smartphone, and lowered her eyes at the emptiness of her screen. 'Where are they?' The seventeen year old asked, and despite looking annoyed, she was truly saddened that her two older friends weren't here to play with her. She squeezed her phone tightly, 'Did they... ditch me?' She asked herself worriedly, but she shook it off with a scowl.

She stomped out of the arcade's entrance, 'A girl that is spoiled rotten like me shouldn't feel jealous over a kid's family.' Mika told herself sternly, and she slid her index finger up against the bridge of her nose. However, she soon realized that she was wearing her contacts instead of her ordinary pair of glasses. Not wanting to like a weirdo, Mika childishly kicked her foot off the ground, and pranced away from the arcade. As she stomped through the sidewalk, she found herself being swept into a sea of people, and someone in a colorful get up bumped into her shoulder. Preventing herself from falling onto her buttocks, Mika gained back some of her footing by hopping on her foot, and stood in the middle of the crowded sidewalk. "H-hey!" She turned her body around to snap at the tall vivid stranger, however, there was no one there, but herself and a tiny crumpled piece of bubblegum wrapper on the ground.

Feeling even more isolated, Mika flicked her imagined glasses, and checked her phone to see if Cider or Leorio texted/called her. Sadly there was nothing but a notification of an unheard voice mail from her dad, and seeing this made her shoved her phone back into her pocket. 'I-it's too early to go back to the hotel...' She told herself lightly, and hid her arms behind her back as she walked alone in the city. Fifteen minutes later, Mika bought herself a canned soda from a hot dog stand, and sat by herself on a nearby bench.

When she popped the soda can open, a small amount of carbonated fizz flowed out of the opening which landed on top of her shoes. "Ugh... I just bought those!" She groaned out, and proceeded to wipe off the stains with a napkin. Today wasn't a good day for Mika, and she was vexed that she had to deal with her sudden case of bad luck by her lonesome.

'I'm going to give that Gorilla and Bimbo a piece of my mind! How dare they ditch me and make me go to the arcade by myself?!' Mika growled, and after gulping down a few mouthfuls of fizzy cola, she called one of her caretakers on her phone. However, as she waited for them to pick up their phone, she suddenly heard a familiar metal core jingle behind her.

"H-hello?" A nervous voice responded out behind her, and that caused the girl to jump out of her seat. Then she turned her head to where the voice was coming from, and a few meters away from her, she saw a guy with ginger brown colored hair sitting on a bench. In his hand was a yellow Smartphone, and slung over his shoulder was a familiar looking bag that made Mika incredibly nervous. 'No, it has to be a coincidence.' She told herself, but when she glanced at the man's outfit, all her doubts jumped out of the window.

Her legs started to tremble, and for some reason, they felt like they were glued onto the concrete. "A-ah..." Mika responded out on her phone, and unknowingly dropped her soda onto the ground. When the can clanked onto the concrete, the aluminum sounds echoed through her phone, and it caught the ginger brown haired man's attention. "Aahaahhh!" Mika nervously gasped, and then she slapped her hand onto her mouth. 'You idiot! You blew your cover!' She scolded herself, and forced herself to back away from the stranger. However, each time she took a step back, the latter proceeded to take a step closer to her, and this game of cat and mouse continued for more than 2 minutes.

An amused expression appeared on the thug's face, "This game is fun and all, but by any chance can we talk kiddo?" He asked Mika with a smile, but it soon disappeared when he saw that the latter was giving him the stink eye. However, it wasn't the glare that was making him nervous, he couldn't place his finger on it, but the air around the girl felt strangely off. She looked angry, but seeing her legs trembling told him that she was terrified by him. Not wanting to spook her even more, the thug laughed lightly as a way to ease the tension between them. "Did I say kiddo? I mean missy. Ha-ha ha-ha hah." He corrected himself quickly, and shortly after his laugh, the strawberry blonde harshly pointed her finger at him.

"That's not going to pull off the wool off my eyes, you silk wearing hooligan!" Mika squeaked restlessly at him, and the latter was astonished by the girl's sharpness.

'Well so much for that... and my fault for thinking this girl is just a kid. How old is she? And why is she dressed like that?' The thug thought as he deflected her coldness by laughing awkwardly again, and rose his hands up as a way of showing that he's no threat. "I'm not going to hurt you okay, I promise." He said to Mika calmly, "I just want to ask if you know the owner of this phone and bag." He explained, and slowly took a step closer to the girl.

Mika arched her eyebrow at the thug's mannerisms, 'D-does he really mean it? This isn't a trap right!?' She asked herself worriedly, but she continued to back away from the thug. She knew that she can't do this all day, but she had no clue to what to do in this situation. From her experience with encountering the mafia gang, her caretakers would find a way to get themselves and her away from harm, but seeing that she had no one to guide her right now, this made her scared. 'What do I do? What do I do?' She closed her eyes shut, but before she ran away, a pint sized pink blur ran passed her, and it was heading toward the ginger brown haired thug. "Paully!" The little blob shouted, and he tackled the thug by giving him a small bear hug.

"A-ah Peanut!" The thug, Paully, responded in shock of the sudden hug, and his eyes softened as the little boy rubbed his face close to him. He smiled faintly at Peanut, "How have you been? Are you taking care of your big sis while I'm away?" He asked while he warmly rubbed the little boy's head, and the latter answered by nodding his head. As the two boys talked for a bit, Mika remained still, and was stunned by what her little playmate just did. The boy hugging an associate of an illusive mafia family was downright appalling, but seeing the way they displayed familial affection to each other evoked something deep within the teen's frigid heart. Convinced by her playmate's innocent interactions with the ginger brown haired thug, Mika headed over steadily to their direction.

* * *

"After that, I grabbed everything off the floor, and ran out into the city which I ended up meeting you. I'm sorry about your friend. I promise I'll get them out of there."

"Y-you better! It's already bad that I thought my friends ditched me today, and it'll be extremely bad that I ended up losing both of them today too!"

"..."

"Not only that, it'll be very bad if you ended up getting hurt. So don't do anything too hasty, Hooligan."

"Can't really promise that, but I'll do what I can."

After encountering the friendly Shiao member, Paully, about twenty had passed since then, and Mika had found herself riding in a truck with the former. From what she can tell from the time on her cell phone, they've been on the road for some time now, and the cityscape behind her window was starting to decay. She stared at the passing scenery outside of the window, and a moment later, she took out her cell phone. **'Where are you Gorilla? Please answer!**' She typed onto her phone, and pressed the send icon. This was the seventeenth time she sent a message to Leorio, but like the other sixteen attempts, there was no response from him. "Have you tried calling your other friend?" Paully asked her curiously, and she shook her head.

"He's not answering his calls..." Mika answered, and she gripped onto her cell phone tightly. Lots of things were going through the girl's mind right now, and she couldn't help but wonder if this was punishment for her past actions and for being a stuck up with a silver spoon in her mouth. "Are you feeling okay? You can crack the window open if you want." The brown haired thug stated as he paid attention to the road, and seconds later, he felt a small gentle breeze flowing through the car, but he then heard the sounds of someone gagging. Quickly pulling over to the side of the road, he got out of his truck, and then escorted Mika out to a nearby alleyway. There beside a dumpster, the air then smelt of cola and overly ripened fruit, and Paully found himself rubbing the girl's stress filled back.

Wiping away the saliva from her lips, Mika heard something rustling in the dumpster beside her, and Paully pulled her to his side. A few seconds later, someone popped out of the dumpster, and Mika's watery eyes shot open in shock of who it was. She pushed Paully's arm away from her, "LEORIO!?" She screamed in disbelief, and the spiky haired teen responded by spitting out a fish bone.

"M-Mika is that you?! How did you wind up here!?" A shocked Leorio asked her worriedly, and then he saw that she wasn't alone. He lowered his gaze at the silk suited boy, "You little shit!" He shouted hotly, and as he gotten himself out of the dumpster, he landed face first onto the stony ground. Standing up from his fall, Leorio darted over Paully, and grabbed him by his shirt collar. "WHERE IS JAOI AND YOUR BOSSMAN, PIETRE!?" He screamed at the top of his lungs.

* * *

SLAM!

Awakening from her sleep, Cider found herself sitting in the middle of a dirty tiled room that smelt heavily of bodily fluids and vomit. From what she could see, it looked like she was in a public shower room that looked like it hasn't been maintained for a while. The place lacked air conditioning, which not only made the place ridiculously stuffy, but it also made the room's putrid funk worse. The smell was terrible, and it made the stench from the Mystiker Library's books look like it was expensive bottles of cologne from Glam Gas Island. 'How did I end up here?' She asked herself, and from what she recalled; she passed out in the middle of the footpath. Then she remembered that someone was yelling out her name in the distance and running to her aid.

Then her eyes shot open, "Leorio!" She gasped out in horror, and as she tried to stand up, she discovered that she was chained to a rusty metal chair. Alone in a middle of a dirty dank room and bounded by leather straps; it made her stomach churn. The rancid smell, the filthiness of her environment, and the tightness of her restraints it was already getting to her.

"NGH!" She gasped out, and as she struggled to get out of her seat, she fell onto her side. The sounds of her breathing echoed through the room, and suddenly, she heard footsteps from afar. The sounds were drawing closer, and all she could do was lay still while being attached to a chair. From the corner of her eye, she noticed two pairs of lavish leather loafers standing near her. Soon she found herself being pulled up from the ground, and back to where she was. Two people stood before her, and both of them wore silk suits. Seeing their outfits spelled 'bad news' for the twenty year old, but she tried her best to mask her fears with a calm expression. However, the fact that there was no sight of her junior and the belief that she may not see the light of day was already getting to her. All she could do was bite down on her lower lip, and struggled to get out of the leather straps. 'I GOT TO GET OUT OF HERE!' She screamed in her head, and when she saw one of the mafia members pull out something from their pocket, she flinched.

The situation that she was in now, it was like reliving a nightmare that almost crushed her spirit, and sadly, there was no one to bail her out this time. Closing her eyes shut and continually biting her lip, Cider braced herself for an attack, but instead, she was bracing for the sounds of gum chewing.

Crinkle. Chew. Chew. Chew. Smack. Pop!

Realizing that the female goon just pulled out a piece of gum from her pocket, Cider sighed quietly, and as she calmed herself, she tasted something salty in the corner of her mouth from where she bit. "Now, now. No need to panic. Too much of that will ruin your pretty face, Cider Meiming." One of the Shiao Mafia members cooed out to Cider, but as he tried to clean the strand of blood off from her lips, she moved her head away from his touch. "Don't touch me!" She snapped at the brown eyed gangster, but her voice remained gentle. Raising his eyebrow, the bearded thug pulled his hand away from her, and took out something from his blazer's pocket; a dinged up Hunter license. Seeing that he caught her attention, the broad shouldered man simply waved the card in front of her. "This along with your precious belongings will be yours again, and you can leave. But only if you answer my questions." He explained, and watched as the seated woman stared at her strapped arms.

Calmly looking at her restraints, Cider pondered over the man's offer, which sounded not only tempting, but also quite vague. 'Precious belongings? What did he mean by that?' She wondered, and thought over the things she had in her purse. Aside from her license and Smartphone, the purse didn't really have anything worth of value, and most of those things can be replaced. Then the thought of Leorio crossed her mind, which caused her to reevaluate over her answer. There was a slight chance that Leorio may have ran away from the scene, but that hypothesis was outweighed by the fact that he would stand his ground no matter what. While that trait was amicable to the girl, she wished that he would stand by someone else who was more competent, and less of an inconvenience than she was.

_"Yo Cider, next month I'll be meeting up with a group of friends, and I was wondering if you and 'princess' over there would like to meet them?" _Leorio's voice echoed in her head, and she felt her heart sinking into a pool of guilt. She remembered a conversation that she had with him two days ago at the hotel, and to this day, she was perplexed by his invitation of introducing his friends to her.

_"S-sure, I would like to meet them! Come to think of it, how about you guys meet at the park, and I'll set you four a nice picnic lunch?"_

_"Heh, good idea! But you better bring plenty of food, two of my friends have huge appetites and they're still growing little boys!"_

_"Hahehe, I'll make sure of it!"_

The way he smiled about his friends or talking about things like his dreams, it reminded her of the times where she saw the smiles of her former comrades. Like him, they had their aspirations of their own, but sadly, many of them never gotten the chance to make it happen. 'I can't let that happen to him...' She told herself, and not wanting to make the two goons wait any longer, she inhaled the smelly air, and gazed at the bearded man calmly. "I'll do my best to answer your questions, but please let him go. It's me that you want, not him!" She pleaded, and both her captors exchanged puzzled looks to one another.

Seconds later, the bearded man led out a soft cough, and clasped his hands together. "That's a good little hunter." He rejoiced with a charming smile, "First question; What are the current locations of the bodyguard recruitments for Light Nostrade? Give me your honest answer." He asked smoothly, and casually wiped the drop of sweat that was forming on his brow.

Since the heat in this room was becoming unbearable, and beads of sweat were forming on the surface of Cider's forehead. Each droplet slowly rolled passed her cheeks and down to her neck. The goons were waiting for her answer, and she calmly looked at their faces. "Uhm..." She finally responded, "Can you tell me your name? It doesn't seem right that you know my name, and I don't know any of yours." She politely told him, and he lowered his gaze toward her soft golden eyes. Seeing that he had the upper hand, and the fact his prisoner looked like she won't hurt a fly, there doesn't seem to be a problem of answering her question. Not only that, the fact that she's willing to talk indicated that she was either too much of a pushover or just downright foolish to believe that they have a friend of hers held captive. However, something about her mannerisms felt a tad bit odd for the bearded ruffian, but he decided to put those feelings aside for now. 'What's a pencil pushing hunter like her going to do anyway?' He asked himself in a cocky manner, 'Just a little trim will break her in no time, and it'll be smooth sailing after that...' He stated ghoulishly, and then decided to humor his hostage.

"The names Jaoi, and my lovely friend over here is Motana." He nonchalantly introduced himself and his cohort, who was casually clipping her fingernails while chewing bubblegum. Once he finished his introductions, he awaited for the woman's response, but as she opened her mouth, the answer didn't settle well with him.

Cider took a deep breath, "I apologize Mr. Jaoi and Ms. Motana, but I cannot tell you that piece of information. Under the Association; I am not allowed to break the non-disclosure agreement between clients without jurisdiction or an approval from a higher up." She answered in a honest manner.

When Cider finished her sentence, Jaoi snapped his fingers, and the curly haired woman, Motana, stood beside the temp hunter. Blowing out a green bubble, Motana positioned her nail clippers toward the woman's polished fingernails. "Where do you think you are? Answer me that hunter." Jaoi asked the temp hunter gruffly with a piercing glare, but the latter continued to look at him with gentle eyes.

"I think I'm in a public bathhouse, and the building is probably miles away from the main city, possibly in Leder's Square." Cider answered gently, and watched as one of her abductors clipped the cuticles off her nails.

"Who do you think your speaking to? Be careful with your words this time hunter." Jaoi demanded her again, and nudged his head toward cohort who then proceeded to clip the latter's already shortened nails. Wincing from the pain, Cider continued to answer the man's questions in the same soft-spoken tone. "I-I'm talking to Jaoi, whose an associate of the notorious Shiao Mafia, and he's following his trusted capo's orders." She replied to his question carefully, and she yelped helplessly as the female thug continued cutting her nails to the point of exposing raw skin.

Harrowing cries of pain and the sounds of nail clippers echoed throughout the room, but the two thugs showed no signs of stopping their little manicure treatment. "Ughh!" Cider groaned through her clenched teeth, and struggled to keep her eyes from closing shut. Jaoi watched with an intent gaze, and was astonished by how much the hunter can withstand the pain. "Hmph." He huffed vexingly at the girl's efforts of not surrendering to the pain. 'It's known that a majority of hunters can withstand almost anything, but a puny hunter like herself should of been broken down by now...' He stroked his beard, 'Then again... Maybe that _couch potato's_ warning about his old crew was right.' He recollected, and an idea flickered in his brain which made him smirk softly. Since the temp hunter showed no indication of breaking down from physical means, maybe rubbing some _salt _onto her old wounds would make her beg for mercy.

Jaoi waved his hand to his cohort, and the latter discontinued their efforts of clipping away the temp hunter's fingernails. "I never thought a pencil pushing hunter like yourself can withstand that. Color me surprised; that fat ex-comrade of yours was right about you and your friends, but too bad he was willing to exchange your timid body and his son for a measly amount of booze money." He said with a faint smile, and encircled around the seated woman, who was utterly stunned by his words.

'I got you now.' His smirk widened, and he playfully fiddled with her license as if he was caressing someone's skin. "Don't look too surprised that a comrade of yours betrayed you. After all, from what I've heard this isn't the first time that this happened to you." He stated casually, but the temp hunter continued to stare at him with those calm orbs of gold. His lips formed into a smirk, "Surely you know of what I'm talking about, _Talantic_ _Wolf_?" He insisted, and blew softly into the woman's ear.

Cider gripped onto the armrests of her chair, "I-I apologize Mr. Jaoi," She hesitated, and smiled strangely at her unsavory captor. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just a graceless Temp Hunter who doesn't know much of anything, and doesn't have that many friends." Cider answered his question graciously, but was welcomed by a forceful slap to the face.

"HCTIB NAITOAB UOY EM HTIW WERCS T'NOD!" He cursed under his breath, and forcefully grabbed the girl by her hair. "Now answer this question carefully, and you **will** answer this truthfully! Where are the pages of the book!?" He demanded angrily, and watched as Cider struggled through the pain.

"Sdneirf ruoy ro uoy ot pleh hcum ton m'i taht yrros m'i. Rehtie wonk t'nod I tub, uoy rof taht rewsna ot ekil dluow ylurt I, em eveileb." Cider apologized sincerely to Jaoi, and she gazed softly at his conflicted brown eyes. A second later, she received another slap, but this time the slap almost felt like she was being smacked by a scolding hot tea kettle. After he swung his hand across her face, Cider helplessly crashed onto the ground, and grunted out in pain.

Jaoi panted heavily at what he just committed, and he glanced down at his hand to see that the woman's hunter license was covered in a few splotches of blood. He knew he overdid it, but he wouldn't allow himself to show it to his female cohort or the rest of the gang. Seeing that he knocked his hostage out cold, he clicked his teeth disapprovingly, and pulled the seat back onto its four legs. "Ughn." Cider groaned out heavily, indicating that she was regaining consciousness after being hit.

The brown haired cohort, Motana, chewed her bubblegum, and glared disapprovingly toward her older cohort. "Did capo really ordered us to kidnap and torture her for information? I thought he called it off, and not only that, what's this about Nostrade's bodyguards. And what's this boy she talking about? All you and Josepp brought in this building was her." She asked Jaoi, who was still recovering from his anger.

"Does it really matter? We're getting the job done without his help." He replied roughly, and Motana raised her eyebrow at his answer. Before she could say anything else to him, Jaoi placed his hand onto her shoulder, and he stared deeply into her green eyes. "Don't ask anymore... The capo wouldn't like that." He cooed out, and she rolled her eyes at his advances to keep her mouth shut. "Keep an eye on her, and make sure she's still breathing. I have a little talk with the capo at his room." He explained to her smoothly, but the latter brushed his hand away from her shoulder.

"Alright, but I'm doing it for the capo. Not for a hothead like yourself." Motana scolded him coldly, and she watched as he exited out of the room. When he slammed the door shut, she turned her attention to the blue haired woman who was staring blankly at the ground. "_When the capo sees her_... Does he know this woman?" She asked herself curiously, and glanced at the bounded woman's facial features. 'I guess she's pretty...' She stated mentally, but she shook off her sadness of being unnoticed by her capo.

Chew. Chew. Chew. Chew. Chew. Chew. Chew.

As she heard the obnoxious sounds of gum chewing, Cider stared vacantly at the shower room's main door. Her fingers were stinging from the little 'beauty treatment' that she got from the bubblegum chewer Motana, and her face was searing red from Jaoi's boiling hot hands. Waiting for the pain to subside slightly, she recollected the things she heard from the bearded Shiao goon. Her plump client and ex-comrade, Tater Lahtcas, he was with the Shiao Mafia, and he was willing enough to give them classified information to criminals. 'How could he do this? Didn't he learn his lesson?' She asked herself about Tater, and was crestfallen by the fact he did this for money. _"Don't look too surprised that your comrade betrayed you. After all, this isn't the first time that happened to you or your pack."_ Jaoi's voice echoed in her mind, and as her heart ached, she gripped onto the chair's armrests to point that the wood was starting to crack.

_"He was willing to exchange your timid body and his son's whereabouts for a measly amount of booze money." _His voice echoed again, and she felt her blood simmering. A part of her wanted to burst out into a fiery inferno of rage, but deep down in the pit of her stomach, she knew that wasn't the best solution. Yes, she's imprisoned. Yes, she's tortured. Yes, they played her like a sucker. Yes, she fell for the belief that Leorio was held captive. Yes, her ex-comrade double crossed her, his son, and all the things that the Association provided him. However, busting out with nen abilities a blazing was not a smart choice, and those _wolves_ at the island military base taught her that.

_"Listen up pups! If you're in a tight spot; don't go all out like a Zoldyck in room full of targets! **USE THE BEST OF YOUR ABILITIES AND THE THINGS AROUND YOU TO GET OUT OF A JAM!**"_

As her scruffy commander's old words of advice rang in her ears, Cider carefully observed her surroundings. Aside from her gum chewing capture, the putrid smelling room had moldy shower stalls, a set of filthy urinals, and leaking metal pipes indicating that the building has running water. She looked at her chair; her limbs and torso was wrapped in leather restraints. Then she looked at her only exit, but she had a gut feeling that someone was guarding outside. After taking in the aesthetics of her environment, she closed her eyes, and calmly listened to her heart.

_"Don't do anything stupid or 'heroic' in Yorknew, just do the job, and leave it at that."_

'I apologize Mr. Autumns, but I need to do something stupid to save myself.' She apologized to the voice in her head, and a burst of unwanted pep flowed through her veins.

Once she saw Motana putting another piece of green gum into her mouth, Cider led out a polite cough to grab her attention. "Uhm... Excuse me." Cider whispered out to her kidnapper, and she slightly cringed from the taste of blood in her mouth. "C-can I have a piece of gum? All I can taste is my own blood and my mouth is starting to dry up from the heat in here. That I'm pretty sure that your capo doesn't want me to have a dry mouth." She rambled with an awkward smile.

Pulling out another piece of gum from her pocket, Motana removed it from its wrapper, and tossed the piece unto the dirty ground. "Well if you want it so badly, then fetch for it." She demanded Cider with a smirk, and was amused by the woman's attempt at getting the piece of gum. She watched as her hostage struggled to bounce the chair over to the piece of gum which was 6 feet away from the exit, and after a couple of difficult jumps, Cider landed face first onto the ground to where the gum was.

ChewChewChewChewChewChewChewChewChew. Smack! Pop!

'She got the gum!?' Motana's eyes widened, and was stunned by the woman's persistence. Quietly walking over to her slumped body, Motana turned over the chair to see Cider chewing on the filthy piece of gum. Despite being treated like an abused dog, the temp hunter still had that awkward smile on her face, and she looked at the goon with her soft eyes. "Mmph. Imph sowphry." Cider mumbled out to the thug apologetically, and seconds later, she blew a green bubble that was a size of a baseball. Annoyed by her antics, Motana pierced the bubble with her finger, and luckily for Cider, that's what she wanted her to do.

'Balance is key. Wonder is good...'

**POP! SMACK!**

Since Cider filled the bubblegum with her fizzy translucent nen, the force of the enhanced energy sent both the girls flying into opposite directions. The brown haired goon was slammed onto the tiled ground, and she rolled face into a set of dirty urinals. As for Cider, because she gotten the brunt of the bubble explosion, it not only knocked her out of her seat, but also slammed her whole body against a rusty metal water pipe. Once she landed onto the ground again, the broken pipe burst out a blast of cold water onto the floor. Feeling the endless stream of cold water hitting her body, Cider gradually recovered from the explosion she caused. Seconds later, a group of armed thugs barged into the room, and a majority noticed their fallen comrade. "What the hell happened here!?" The tallest thug screamed in shock, and ordered the remaining crew to further investigate the room.

Seeing that this was her cue to escape, Cider dragged her body through the watery floor, and she secretly headed toward the open exit. 'Can't be detected... Got to escape.' She told herself, and as she exhaled out the humid air, all she could hear was her steady heartbeat. Slowly she edged toward the door, but every time one of the goons turned their direction to her, she played dead. While it was both a stupid and a cowardly tactic, it was working nonetheless, and in truth, she had no desire to fight any of them unless threatened. Almost reaching to the exit, one of the goons saw that she was escaping, and she felt her heart racing.

"GET HER!" One of the goons screamed, and all of them sprinted toward Cider, who looked like she was spooked by a scary sexy clown.

As the thugs darted toward her position, Cider desperately leaped out of the room, and landed flat on her face. Whining from the pain, Cider crawled toward the door, and clumsily slammed it shut. "Ahhhgh!" She shrieked out, and was distressed by sight of fingers protruding out of the crevices of the door. Realizing that she was slamming the door against someone's fingers, she slightly cracked the door open to allow the person to pull their hand away, and after that, she slammed the door closed.

Pulling herself up, Cider wheezed out in relief, but right before she could fully catch her breath, she heard footsteps in the distance. The sounds were rapidly coming her way, and god knows that she didn't want to stick around to see what's coming toward her. Once she locked the shower room's door shut, Cider ran to the opposite direction of where the sound was coming. Seconds later, gunshots were heard, but that didn't stop her from running away. "I got to get out of here!" She screamed, and desperately looked around to see if there was a way to get out of the building.

So far from her run, all she saw was cracked walls, blocked hallways, rusty pipes, and pieces of the roof lying on the ground. Suddenly, she heard someone screaming in the distance, and this caused her to sprint like a madman. "FORGET ABOUT HER FINGER! WE HAVE OTHER THINGS TO DEAL WITH!" She heard someone screaming out in terror.

Finally making it to the end of the hallway, Cider spotted a fire exit, but as she opened the door, all she found was nothing but air. Before she almost fell out of a two story building, Cider leaned her body back into the building, and landed directly onto her toosh. She closed the door shut, "WHAT HAPPENED TO THE STAIRS!?" She screamed in disbelief, and her eyes were tearing up from almost shaking hands with the grim reaper. Recovering from the scare, she unexpectedly heard a car honking from outside.

Slowly cracking the door open, she gazed down at the ground, and saw a pick-up track that had a moldy mattress on the back. Sitting beside the end of the mattress was Leorio, who also looked like he shook hands with death. "Jump!" He screamed out to Cider, who was greatly flabbergasted by his request. Since there was no other ways of escaping, Cider took a deep breath, and jumped out of the building. Pomf! She landed onto the mattress that smelt of sour milk, and as she opened her eyes, she was welcomed by the sight of Leorio's dorky smile. "N-nice day huh?" He joked reassuringly, and the temp hunter responded by flopping back onto the mattress. So many things were happening all at once, but right now, all Cider wanted to do was sleep it off, and maybe take a long hot bubble bath after her unexpected nap.

"O-oi! Cider! CIDER!"

"GORILLA, TUNNEL!"

BEEEEP BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!

"OHHHHHHHH MY GOD!"

* * *

That's all for now! In the upcoming chapter, lots of things will be answered, and there will be a reunion underneath the starry sky. Until then, thank you for reading, and as always; feedback/favs/alerts/ect. are always deeply appreciated.


	18. Huge Announcement and Apology (UPDATE!)

**Huge Announcement**: I deeply apologize for the long wait for this update, and the fact that this isn't a chapter update. I'm currently preoccupied with irl obligations, and also had some struggles over making this chapter along with polishing the entire storyline (this includes the romance subplot and intertwining it into the HxH's main storyline). Drafts getting cut and pasted on a notepad, making more drafts, breaking this writer's block by writing through the pain, and doodling pictures for the story (imgur album coming soon). Anyway, we're slowly nearing the end of the Yorknew Arc, and things are going to get heavy. Also, while the summary did say that there will be a one sided love triangle with Phinks, I've decided to push that concept back for the time being. But don't worry my dears, the idea is not abandoned, and rest assured, there will be some tiny Phinks and Leorio moments sprinkled here and there in this current arc. Not only that, there will be an assortment of moments sprinkled in as the story progresses. Those vary from crushes/heartbreak/friendships/dates/rekindling/_suits_noticing _heels_/getting together with others. The last tidbit includes Cider with someone(Hint: it's not who you think it is and he's been mentioned in the recent chaps.) and Leorio testing out the waters which includes going for that qt, Bambi.

The one-sided love triangle with Phinks concept will come back in full swing after two major story arcs (that includes this one) are completed, which those said arcs will be split into their own stories. Ex. WxB is Part 1, WIP Title is Part 2, and Final Unnamed Part 3. All three parts will contain 2-3 arcs (with a few mini bonus arcs/parts) of their own.

However, as a friendly heads up, the concepts/stories of WxB are mini-arcs within the major arcs of HxH and it's movies (think of it as tie ins or blocks to fill in gaps). It'll be heavily OC centric (ex. our lovable main four group, and Cider being in a four person group of her own.) with a huge splash of official characters like Leorio (he's not being put on a bus, he's still mainly in the story!). Again, I'm deeply sorry for the long wait and the sudden twist of news, and I thank you readers deeply for sticking around this far, and things like feedback/favs/alerts/ect are always greatly appreciated. You guys continually reading the story is always a heartfelt motivator for me to always keep going, and I'm always happy to hear/read things from you guys.

Anyway, the next chapter; Sentimental Memories, will be posted up somewhere next weekend or the upcoming week after that. This chapter will take place somewhere in the events during the dance club and the vacation days of the three. So I hope you stick around for it, and again, thank you for reading the story this far.

**Huge Update and Bad News 10/14:** Hi everyone, and I'm sorry that this isn't an update yet. Due to mishaps and not saving chapters, I may have completely loss Chapter 4, The Girl on the Roof, which I may have no choice but to rewrite from scratch. It's huge loss because it was a combination of another set of chapters, but good side is that I'm remember most of how the chapter is and I've been also considering of rewriting that certain chapter. This means the workload will be a bit bigger, and the process of updating the newest chapter is temporarily put onto a halt. I'm very sorry about the bad news, and I feel extremely foolish for this mistake and horrible for making you guys wait for so long.

I'll do my best to fix the issue quick (even if it means digging through my old computer for files and scraps or staying up late and fixing this quick) and make this a permanent reminder to **ALWAYS **have your stuff backed up!


End file.
